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arXiv:1908.10138 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Laser interferometry based on atomic coherence

Mangesh Bhattarai, Sumanta Khan, Vasant Natarajan A, Kanhaiya Pandey

Published Feb 15, 2021• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We demonstrate laser interferometry based on phase difference between the two arms of an interferometer. The experiments are done with a Cs atomic vapor cell at room temperature and use atomic coherence. The interference can be tuned from constructive to destructive by tuning the relative phase between the two arms. It is similar to the Michelson interferometer, but differs in the important aspect of allowing interference when the polarizations in the two arms are orthogonal. This would be a novel method for interfering two independent lasers, which can even allow interfering two independent lasers of completely different wavelengths.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6455/abe67c

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Abstract We demonstrate laser interferometry based on phase difference between the two arms of an interferometer. The experiments are done with a Cs atomic vapor cell at room temperature and use atomic coherence. The interference can be tuned from constructive to destructive by tuning the relative phase between the two arms. It is similar to the Michelson interferometer, but differs in the important aspect of allowing interference when the polarizations in the two arms are orthogonal. This would be a novel method for interfering two independent lasers, which can even allow interfering two independent lasers of completely different wavelengths.
A Michelson-type interferometer is built to dynamically lock the optical phase difference between the two-arm laser beams. The phase difference is tunable and allowed for continuous adjustments nearly by 160°. Under the best locking condition, a relative phase stability better than 0.1° is achieved starting from the original phase jitter of 10 to 15°. The interferometer is made by simply adding a pair of Brewster windows in one arm of the conventional setup, yet it provides much robust phase locking. It is readily applicable for optical lattice construction and nondestructive phase contrast imaging of ultracold atoms.
This Letter presents a nonclassical mechanism of two-atom interferometry. The two-atom interferometer introduces two different yet indistinguishable alternatives for randomly paired atoms to create a joint atom-detection event. The superposition of two-atom amplitudes yields two-atom interference with peculiar features which outshine the classic atom interferometer: (1) two-atom interference is still observable when the time delay of the interferometer is greater than the coherence time of the atom beam and (2) two-atom interference may eliminate phase noises, including background, variation, turbulence, and Raman laser induced phase noises, thereby allowing for higher sensitivity and stability sensing than is achievable by classic atom interferometers. These features are crucial in high sensitivity-accuracy acceleration and rotation measurements. The presented concept and mechanism of two-atom interference can be adapted to other matter-wave interferometers, such as two-neutron interferometer and two-electron interferometer.
An experiment is described which is an analog of Young's double-slit interferometer using an atomic electron instead of light. Two phase-coherent laser pulses are used to excite a single electron into a state of the form of a pair of Rydberg wave packets that are initially on opposite sides of the orbit. The two wave packets propagate and spread until they completely overlap, then a third phase-coherent laser pulse probes the resulting fringe pattern. The relative phase of the two wave packets is varied so that the interference produces a single localized electron wave packet on one side of the orbit or the other.
Although interferometry's earliest and most familiar use is with photons, the discovery of matter-wave (deBroglie-wave) interference for electrons demanded the development of quantum mechanics. Since then, matter-wave interferometry has been performed with neutrons, Cooper electron-pairs, and most recently, with whole atoms and diatomic molecules. This talk describes our recent high-flux atom interferometry experiments using the generalized Talbot-vonLau effect. Our interferometer consists of a sequence of three planar vacuum-slit diffraction gratings, microfabricated from silicon nitride membranes. DeBroglie-wave interference fringes are sensed by measuring the transmission of potassium atoms on a hot- wire as a function of grating relative position. Different spatial Fourier components (up to sixth) in the diffraction pattern are resonant in the interferometer at different atomic velocities (i.e., at different wavelengths). When a laser cooled slow atomic beam is incident, various different diffraction patterns are observed as a function of atomic velocity. In an alternative `Heisenberg Microscope' configuration an incident thermal beam produces a velocity average over different fringe Fourier components. AC modulated weak laser light passing through the interferometer interacts selectively with atoms at a specific velocity. The associated fringe pattern is then ac modulated and revealed by its selective destruction.
We have constructed an atom interferometer using three 200 nm period transmission gratings. The two interfering portions of each atom’s wave pass on opposite sides of a stretched metal foil. A fringe amplitude of up to 900 cps is observed, which allows us to determine the phase to 15 milliradians in 1 minute. By applying different interactions to the two sides of the interferometer, we have determined the electric polarizability of the ground state of sodium, the coherence length of our beam, and the differential phase shifts and coherences of the different Zeeman ground states in a magnetic field. Some future prospects of separated beam experiments are discussed.
The goal of this project was to develop an apparatus to measure the coherence length of the light waves produced by different lasers.The coherence length is the distance over which two interacting waves maintain a constant relative phase.The method selected to achieve the goal of the project was to introduce the laser light into a modified Michelson interferometer arrangement while observing and measuring the resulting interference pattern. This pattern can be interpreted in terms of the properties of the laser light from which the pattern was produced, including, it was predicted, its coherence length. In order to characterize the apparatus and develop a means of interpreting the interference patterns, two different lasers were used: a red diode laser taken from an inexpensive laser pointer, and a red He-Ne laser. As part of this project the quantum eraser phenomenon and bandwidth of the diode and He-Ne lasers were also investigated. The project is continuing an investigation of the utility of the apparatus for coherence length measurements.