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arXiv:2610.01735

A Compact, High-Data-Rate, High-Sensitivity GMOT-Based Light-Pulse Atom Interferometer toward Time-Multiplexed, Multi-Axis Inertial Sensing

Benjamin Smith, Adrian Orozco, Jongmin Lee

Published Oct 1, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Light-pulse atom interferometry has emerged as a promising approach for developing quantum inertial and gravity sensors for real-world applications, but achieving robust operation in dynamic environments without sacrificing sensitivity remains challenging. To mitigate performance degradations resulting from vibration-induced noise and mismatches in the spatial overlap between free-falling atoms and light pulses, we demonstrate a first-of-a-kind high-data-rate, high-sensitivity grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT)-based light-pulse atom interferometer (LPAI). This system uses a compact, rugged GMOT architecture, based on an in-vacuum microfabricated grating chip and a single laser-cooling beam, to enable high-data-rate GMOT-based cold-atom generation with sub-Doppler cooling. Our GMOT-based LPAI operates at high data rates (up to 100 Hz), while simultaneously achieving both high acceleration sensitivity (550 ng/rt-Hz at 20 Hz, 1.49 ug/rt-Hz at 45 Hz, and 6.31 ug/rt-Hz at 70 Hz) and good bias stability (71 ng). This compact, rugged architecture paves the way for field-deployable quantum inertial and gravity sensors in high dynamics and for time-multiplexed, multi-axis inertial sensing.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2610.01735

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Light-pulse atom interferometry has emerged as a promising approach for developing quantum inertial and gravity sensors for real-world applications, but achieving robust operation in dynamic environments without sacrificing sensitivity remains challenging. To mitigate performance degradations resulting from vibration-induced noise and mismatches in the spatial overlap between free-falling atoms and light pulses, we demonstrate a first-of-a-kind high-data-rate, high-sensitivity grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT)-based light-pulse atom interferometer (LPAI). This system uses a compact, rugged GMOT architecture, based on an in-vacuum microfabricated grating chip and a single laser-cooling beam, to enable high-data-rate GMOT-based cold-atom generation with sub-Doppler cooling. Our GMOT-based LPAI operates at high data rates (up to 100 Hz), while simultaneously achieving both high acceleration sensitivity (550 ng/rt-Hz at 20 Hz, 1.49 ug/rt-Hz at 45 Hz, and 6.31 ug/rt-Hz at 70 Hz) and good bias stability (71 ng). This compact, rugged architecture paves the way for field-deployable quantum inertial and gravity sensors in high dynamics and for time-multiplexed, multi-axis inertial sensing.
The extreme miniaturization of a cold-atom interferometer accelerometer requires the development of novel technologies and architectures for the interferometer subsystems. Here we describe several component technologies and a laser system architecture to enable a path to such miniaturization. We developed a custom, compact titanium vacuum package containing a microfabricated grating chip for a tetrahedral grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT) using a single cooling beam. In addition, we designed a multi-channel photonic-integrated-circuit-compatible laser system implemented with a single seed laser and single sideband modulators in a time-multiplexed manner, reducing the number of optical channels connected to the sensor head. In a compact sensor head containing the vacuum package, sub-Doppler cooling in the GMOT produces 15 uK temperatures, and the GMOT can operate at a 20 Hz data rate. We validated the atomic coherence with Ramsey interferometry using microwave spectroscopy, then demonstrated a light-pulse atom interferometer in a gravimeter configuration for a 10 Hz measurement data rate and T = 0 - 4.5 ms interrogation time, resulting in ΔΔΔ g / g = 2.0e-6. This work represents a significant step towards deployable cold-atom inertial sensors under large amplitude motional dynamics.
Abstract The extreme miniaturization of a cold-atom interferometer accelerometer requires the development of novel technologies and architectures for the interferometer subsystems. We describe several component technologies and a laser system architecture to enable a path to such miniaturization. We developed a custom, compact titanium vacuum package containing a microfabricated grating chip for a tetrahedral grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT) using a single cooling beam. The vacuum package is integrated into the optomechanical design of a compact cold-atom sensor head with fixed optical components. In addition, a multichannel laser system driven by a single seed laser has been implemented with time-multiplexed frequency shifting using single sideband modulators, reducing the number of optical channels connected to the sensor head. This laser system architecture is compatible with a highly miniaturized photonic integrated circuit approach, and by demonstrating atom-interferometer operation with this laser system, we show feasibility for the integrated photonic approach. In the compact sensor head, sub-Doppler cooling in the GMOT produces 15 μK temperatures, which can operate at a 20 Hz data rate for the atom interferometer sequence. After validating atomic coherence with Ramsey interferometry, we demonstrate a light-pulse atom interferometer in a gravimeter configuration without vibration isolation for 10 Hz measurement cycle rate and T = 0 - 4.5 ms interrogation time, resulting in Δg/g = 2.0e-6. All these efforts demonstrate progress towards deployable cold-atom inertial sensors under large amplitude motional dynamics.
We demonstrate a compact light-pulse atom interferometer (LPAI) with a high data-rate grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT) and a photonic-integrated-circuit (PIC)-compatible laser system. These efforts are aligned with one of our primary goals, LPAI operation in high-dynamic environments through ruggedization and miniaturization of the sensor head and laser systems. The compact sensor head is based on a custom vacuum package and a grating chip with fixed optical components. The high data-rate LPAI operation with a GMOT enables the operation of LPAIs in high dynamics. PIC-compatible and PIC-based laser systems are realized and used to demonstrate LPAIs towards miniature cold-atom inertial sensors. Acknowledgement This work was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Sandia National Laboratories and is funded under the DARPA APhI program. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. This paper describes technical results and analysis. Any subjective views or opinions that might be expressed in the paper do not necessarily represent the view of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government.
Light pulse atom interferometers have demonstrated remarkable sensitivity and stability for acceleration and rotation rate measurement. However, typical manifestations are designed for laboratory environments and thus rely on a fixed magnitude and direction of gravity, and limited ambient rotation rate. We have enhanced the application space of atom interferometers towards more dynamic environments, with special attention for inertial navigation. I present our work in the domain of short time-of-flight atom interferometry, whereby the magnitude of ensemble excursion is constrained. The limited interrogation time results in a significant loss of sensitivity. We recover a fraction of the lost sensitivity by operating with an enhanced duty-cycle and data-rate. To demonstrate this concept, we construct an atom interferometer accelerometer capable of operating at data-rates as high as 300 Hz with sensitivities at μg/rtHz levels, which represents a competitive figure for inertial navigation application. For the bulk of this work, we demonstrate a dual-axis sensor capable of simultaneous acceleration and rotation-rate measurements. The sensor relies on a technique we refer to as "ensemble exchange" which provides a high flux source of ultracold atoms by swapping atomic ensembles between two MOTs. We achieve a steady-state atom number of 7e6 atoms/shot using a minimal loading time of a few milliseconds each shot. Furthermore, we find this technique to be robust under dynamic conditions as large as 10 g of acceleration and 20 rad/s of rotation rate, representing a significant enhancement in ultra-cold atom sample preparation. The sensor achieves μg/rtHz and μrad/s/rtHz sensitivities, making this technique a compelling prospect for inertial navigation applications. Through the use of auxiliary cosensors and a real-time combinatorial loop with feedforward and feedback mechanisms, we demonstrate an unprecedented enhancement of the sensor dynamic range up to 20 mg. Finally, I will discuss a novel manifestation of short time-of-flight atom interferometry in a warm atomic vapor, which avoids the complication of cold sample preparation and has the potential for significantly simplified laser systems.
PIC-Based/-Compatible Laser Systems for LPAIEnd goal is to have all lasers, modulators, amplifiers, and nonlinear optics fabricated with photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology to enable largescale production."PIC-compatible" system is an intermediate step to demonstrate the feasibility of the architecture using commercial-off-the-shelf components.• Single 1560 nm seed laser • 1560 nm modulation [16,17] followed by amplification • Second harmonic generation (SHG) to produce 780 nm for addressing 87 Rb [18,19]Overview Light-pulse atom interferometers (LPAIs) have demonstrated excellent sensitivity to inertial forces in laboratory settings, and significant efforts are underway to apply them in real-world environments [1-5], but maintaining high performance in a dynamic environment is challenging.With the goal of elucidating a path towards fieldable sensors, we present a multifaceted approach based on a high data-rate grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT) LPAI [6], photonic-integrated-circuit (PIC) laser systems, and membrane PIC platforms for guiding atoms with evanescent-field (EF) modes.
We demonstrate a closed-loop light-pulse atom-interferometer inertial sensor that can realize continuous decoupled measurements of acceleration and rotation rate. The sensor operates with double-loop atom interferometers, which share the same Raman light pulses in a spatially separated Mach-Zehnder configuration and use continuous cold atomic beams propagating in opposite directions from two 2D+{\text{2D}}^{+}2D+ magneto-optical trappings. Acceleration and the rotation rate are decoupled and simultaneously measured by the sum and difference of dual-atom-interferometer signals, respectively. The sensitivities of inertial measurements are also increased to be approximately 1.86 times higher than that of a single atom interferometer. The acceleration phase shift is compensated in real time by phase locking these interferometers via the Raman laser phases from the sum-interferometer signal, and the gyroscope performance is improved. We achieve long-term stabilities of $6.1\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\text{\ensuremath{\mu}}\text{g}$ and 840 nrad/s for the acceleration and the rotation rate, respectively, using a short interrogation time of 0.87 ms (interference area A=0.097mm2A=0.097\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}{\text{mm}}^{2}A=0.097mm2). This work provides a building block for an atomic interferometer-based inertial measurement unit for use in field applications that require a high data rate and high stability.