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arXiv:2607.24511

Serrodyne Matterwave Optics

Jack Roth, Madeline Bernstein, Andrew Christensen, Yuno Iwasaki, Holger Müller, Zaire Sprowal, Robert Compton

Published Jul 27, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Bragg diffraction for atom interferometry conventionally requires two laser frequencies whose difference makes the two-photon transition resonant. We show that this frequency difference can instead be generated by serrodyne modulation, allowing Bragg pulses to be driven with a single-frequency laser. The serrodyne modulation is performed using an acousto-optic modulator driven with a phase-modulated RF drive, and generated kilohertz-scale frequency shifts on top of the AOM carrier frequency. While in general serrodyne modulation generates strong unwanted frequency components, we find conditions so that the Bragg diffraction pulses, and atom interferometers constructed from them, are robust to these imperfections, opening the door to the development of ultra compact, single frequency Bragg diffraction based atom interferometers with serrodyne modulation implemented by a position modulated retroreflection mirror.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2607.24511

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Bragg diffraction for atom interferometry conventionally requires two laser frequencies whose difference makes the two-photon transition resonant. We show that this frequency difference can instead be generated by serrodyne modulation, allowing Bragg pulses to be driven with a single-frequency laser. The serrodyne modulation is performed using an acousto-optic modulator driven with a phase-modulated RF drive, and generated kilohertz-scale frequency shifts on top of the AOM carrier frequency. While in general serrodyne modulation generates strong unwanted frequency components, we find conditions so that the Bragg diffraction pulses, and atom interferometers constructed from them, are robust to these imperfections, opening the door to the development of ultra compact, single frequency Bragg diffraction based atom interferometers with serrodyne modulation implemented by a position modulated retroreflection mirror.
Bragg diffraction of atoms at thick standing light waves requires that the wave-matching condition is fulfilled. This usually means that the atomic beam crosses the light wave exactly at the Bragg angle. Nevertheless, our experiments also demonstrate Bragg diffraction at detuned angles if the amplitude of the standing light wave is temporally modulated with an appropriate frequency. If, on the other hand, the phase of the light wave is modulated no diffraction is observed. Both modulation processes produce frequency sidebands which set up `slowly travelling standing waves' in front of a retro-reflection mirror. Atoms are diffracted at these `almost standing' light waves in a similar way to photons at the travelling sound waves in an acousto-optic modulator. The frequency of the diffracted de Broglie waves is assumed to be shifted by the intensity modulation frequency. The different results using amplitude- and phase-modulated light waves are due to interference between the diffraction contributions of the individual frequency sidebands contained in the standing light wave.
A compact and robust laser system is essential for mobile atom interferometers. Phase modulation can provide the two necessary phase-coherent frequencies without sophisticated phase-locking between two different lasers. However, the additional laser frequencies generated can perturb the atom interferometer. In this article, we report on a novel method to produce a single high-power laser beam composed of two phase-coherent sidebands without the perturbing carrier mode. Light from a diode laser is phase-modulated by using a fiber-coupled electro-optic modulator driven at 3.4 GHz and passes through a Fabry-Perot cavity with a 6.8 GHz free spectral range. The cavity filters the carrier mode to leave the two first-order sidebands for the two-photon Raman transition between the two hyperfine ground states of 87 Rb. The laser beam is then fed to a single tapered amplifier, and the two sidebands are both amplified without mode competition. The phase noise is lower than that of a state-of-the-art optically phase-locked external-cavity diode laser (−135 dBrad 2 /Hz at 10 kHz) at frequencies above 10 Hz. This technique can be used in all-fiber-based laser systems for future mobile atom interferometers.
We report a compact and robust architecture of a versatile laser system that allows the implementation of several advanced atom interferometry techniques, such as Bragg diffraction, Bloch oscillations, or single and double Raman diffraction. A low noise, frequency tunable fiber-laser (λ = ~1560 nm) serves as the seed. A couple of fiber-coupled amplifiers followed by two fibered second-harmonic generators produce a pair of phase-locked, frequency-controllable laser beams at 780 nm. Manipulating frequencies of individual laser beams at λ = 1560 nm before the amplifiers, facilitates achieving a maximum relative detuning of ± 20 MHz, while maintaining a constant output power. We present the scheme to implement Raman spectroscopy using our laser system and discuss its advantages. Finally, the overall performance of the laser setup has been evaluated by realizing interferometers in copropagating Ramsey-Raman and counterpropagating Bragg configuration.
We present a detailed study of the effects of imperfect atom-optical manipulation in Bragg-based light-pulse atom interferometers. Off-resonant higher-order diffraction leads to population loss, spurious interferometer paths, and diffraction phases. In a path-dependent formalism, we study numerically various effects and analyze the interference signal caused by an external phase or gravity. We compare first-order single and double Bragg diffraction in retroreflective setups. In double Bragg diffraction, phase imperfections lead to a beating due to three-path interference. Some effects of diffraction phases can be avoided by adding the population of the outer exit ports of double diffraction.
The use of retroreflection in light-pulse atom interferometry under microgravity conditions naturally leads to a double-diffraction scheme. The two pairs of counterpropagating beams induce simultaneously transitions with opposite momentum transfer that, when acting on atoms initially at rest, give rise to symmetric interferometer configurations where the total momentum transfer is automatically doubled and where a number of noise sources and systematic effects cancel out. Here we extend earlier implementations for Raman transitions to the case of Bragg diffraction. In contrast with the single-diffraction case, the existence of additional off-resonant transitions between resonantly connected states precludes the use of the adiabatic elimination technique. Nevertheless, we have been able to obtain analytic results even beyond the deep Bragg regime by employing the so-called ``method of averaging,'' which can be applied to more general situations of this kind. Our results have been validated by comparison to numerical solutions of the basic equations describing the double-diffraction process.
A new robust laser system for mobile atom interferometers is reported. Phase modulation of a single diode laser provide two phase-coherent frequencies necessary for the Raman transition in light-pulse atom interferometers. Additional laser frequencies generated by the phase modulation, which would disturb the phase of atom interferometers, is filtered by a Fabry-Perot cavity. The two sidebands of the phase-modulated light is tuned to the adjacent resonances of the cavity and the carrier mode and even-order higher sidebands are filtered. The laser beam is then fed to a single tapered amplifier, and the two sidebands are both amplified without mode competition. The phase noise is lower than that of a state-of-the-art optically phase-locked external-cavity diode laser (-135 dBrad2/Hz at 10 kHz). This technique can be used in all-fiber-based laser systems for future mobile atom interferometers. The laser system has advantage of low phase noise, high mechanical stability, low power consumption and compactness.