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Chinese Optics Letters

Integrated design of a compact magneto-optical trap for space applications

Qiuzhi Qu, Bin Wang, Desheng Lü, Jianbo Zhao Jianbo Zhao, Meifeng Ye, Wei Ren, Jingfeng Xiang, Liang Liu Liang Liu

Published Jan 1, 2015• 10 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this Letter, we describe an optical assembly that is designed for the engineering application of the atomic laser cooling techniques.Using a folded optical path scheme, we have built a miniaturized, compact magneto-optical trap (CMOT) for an 87 Rb atomic fountain clock.Compared with the conventional magneto-optical traps used in other clocks, our system is more robust, more compact, more stable, and saves about 60% laser power.This optical setup has operated for about a year in our fountain system, passed the thermal cycle tests and the mechanical vibration and shock tests, and maintained a high performance without a need for realignment.

DOI
10.3788/col201513.061405

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In this Letter, we describe an optical assembly that is designed for the engineering application of the atomic laser cooling techniques.Using a folded optical path scheme, we have built a miniaturized, compact magneto-optical trap (CMOT) for an 87 Rb atomic fountain clock.Compared with the conventional magneto-optical traps used in other clocks, our system is more robust, more compact, more stable, and saves about 60% laser power.This optical setup has operated for about a year in our fountain system, passed the thermal cycle tests and the mechanical vibration and shock tests, and maintained a high performance without a need for realignment.
The high-precision gravity measurements of cold atom experiments puts highly demands on the design and qualification of magneto-optical trap. We present a new modular magneto-optical trap for the cooling and manipulation of rubidium atom interferometry based on free space optical bench technology, which has been developed for a portable atomic inertial sensor. The setup consists of an integrated cooling laser injecting module, a free space bench module, an integrated Raman laser injecting module and a reflecting mirror attached to a single tri-axial accelerometer. The traditional magneto-optical trap includes 3 pairs of commercial cooling laser injecting lens, which are hard to assembled together in 3 mutually perpendicular directions and intersected at a common point. This paper introduces a new free space bench method to meet the angle and position requirements of magneto-optical trap. The vertical angle error of each pair of Cooling beams and intersection coincidence distance can be controlled in a small range. And the free space bench module is easy to control the parameters of laser beams, such as power and polarization. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the new modular magneto-optical trap is more reliable and robust in comparison with traditional MOT.
Highly stable atomic frequency standards are of increasing importance for a variety of space applications, ranging from communication to navigation and time transfer to tests of fundamental science. The requirements for an atomic clock vary significantly depending on the application, and for many space systems, compactness and robust design are at a premium, and stability dominates over absolute accuracy. We report on progress with our design for a compact laser-cooled Cs- beam atomic clock suitable for satellite applications such as GPS. The basic design features a continuous, cold atomic beam extracted from a magneto-optic trap (MOT). This cold atomic beam is then to be used in a laser-pumped Ramsey clock, with the clock signal derived from either a microwave C-field or, alternatively, by Raman resonance between the Ramsey fields. In order to reduce light shifts from the MOT light and improve signal-to-noise, the atomic beam will be optically deflected and transversely cooled upon extraction from the MOT. We estimate that the shot-noise-limited stability achievable with this physics package can be 2 to 3 orders of magnitude better than current Cs-beam clocks used in satellite applications. We present our experimental progress towards a working frequency standard, including characterization of our six-beam magneto-optic cold atom trap and production and characterization of a cold atomic beam.
Using modularized components, we have built a miniaturized optical system for 87 Rb atomic fountain clock that is fitted on an 80 cm × 60 cm optical breadboard. Compared with the conventional optical setup on the table, our system is more compact, more robust and miniaturized. Taking advantage of this system, laser beams are transmitted through eight optical fibre patch cords from the optical breadboard to an ultra high vacuum system. This optical setup has operated for five months in our fountain system and required no alignment.
Optical atomic clocks demonstrate a better stability and lower systematic uncertainty than the highest performance microwave atomic clocks. However, the best performing optical clocks have a large footprint in a laboratory environment and require specialist skills to maintain continuous operation. Growing and evolving needs across several sectors are increasing the demand for compact robust and portable devices at this capability level. In this paper we discuss the design of a physics package for a compact laser-cooled 88 Sr + optical clock that would, with further development, be suitable for space deployment. We review the design parameters to target a relative frequency uncertainty at the low parts in 10 18 with this system. We then explain the results of finite-element modelling to simulate the response of the ion trap and vacuum chamber to vibration, shock and thermal conditions expected during launch and space deployment. Additionally, an electrostatic model has been developed to investigate the relationship between the ion trap geometrical tolerances and the trapping efficiency. We present the results from these analyses that have led to the design of a more robust prototype ready for experimental testing.
We report the design and in-orbit demonstration of a compact optical system for a 87Sr optical lattice clock aboard the Chinese Space Station. This system adopts a compact and robust vertically stacked architecture with a total volume of 0.11 m3 and a mass of 53.6 kg. It passed thermal and vibration qualification tests and remained fully operational after launch. In orbit, it achieved automated multi-stage laser stabilization and a blue magneto-optical trap for 87Sr atoms. This marks a significant step toward operational optical clocks in space.
Magneto-optical traps (MOTs), indispensable to cold-atom-based quantum computing and quantum precision measurement, are increasingly desired in compact and stable form. Particularly, the six-beam 3D-MOT, distinguished by symmetric geometry and superior trapping performance, finds particularly broad applications. Conventional implementations, however, rely on complex and bulky free-space optics, hindering miniaturization, practical assembly, and long-term stability. Here, we demonstrate a compact six-beam 3D-MOT system that employs two multifunctional optical metasurface chips to implement the optical-field functionalities required for cooling and trapping atoms. By combining two metasurface chips and a vacuum cell, a photonic-integrated cell module (PICM) is implemented as the core assembly and the volume is only" 73*73*107 mm^3" . In success, 1.3 * 10^3 Rb atoms are trapped and cooled to the temperature of ~183 μK. It should be noticed that the laser beam is guided to the metasurface through optical fiber, thus such fully fiber-coupled architecture enables straightforward and stable operations. We believe that this work would pave a practical route toward compact and portable 3D-MOT.