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European Frequency and Time Forum

Spectroscopy in a micro-fabricated Rb cell with anti-relaxation wall-coating

Matthieu Pellaton, C. Affolderbach, G. Mileti, Rahel Straessle, Yves Pétremand, D. Briand, Nico F. de Rooij

Published Jun 1, 2014• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report on the realization and spectroscopic evaluation of a micro-fabricated Rb vapor cell equipped with an anti-relaxation OTS wall coating. By combining different spectroscopic results, we can exclude a hypothetical buffer-gas contamination of the cell as cause of the narrow double-resonance (DR) signals observed. We thus conclude that the narrow DR signal linewidth is due to the anti-relaxation wall-coating present in the cell. This realization presents interests in view of applications in miniaturized atomic devices such as atomic clocks, magnetometers, and others.

DOI
10.1109/eftf.2014.7331561

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•Jan 1, 2013•2 citations
We report on the realization and spectroscopic evaluation of a micro-fabricated Rb vapor cell equipped with an anti-relaxation OTS wall coating. By combining different spectroscopic results, we can exclude a hypothetical buffer-gas contamination of the cell as cause of the narrow double-resonance (DR) signals observed. We thus conclude that the narrow DR signal linewidth is due to the anti-relaxation wall-coating present in the cell. This realization presents interests in view of applications in miniaturized atomic devices such as atomic clocks, magnetometers, and others.
We present a microfabricated alkali vapor cell equipped with an anti-relaxation wall coating. The anti-relaxation coating used is octadecyltrichlorosilane and the cell was sealed by thin-film indium-bonding at a low temperature of 140 °C. The cell body is made of silicon and Pyrex and features a double-chamber design. Depolarizing properties due to liquid Rb droplets are avoided by confining the Rb droplets to one chamber only. Optical and microwave spectroscopy performed on this wall-coated cell are used to evaluate the cell's relaxation properties and a potential gas contamination. Double-resonance signals obtained from the cell show an intrinsic linewidth that is significantly lower than the linewidth that would be expected in case the cell had no wall coating but only contained a buffer-gas contamination on the level measured by optical spectroscopy. Combined with further experimental evidence this proves the presence of a working anti-relaxation wall coating in the cell. Such cells are of interest for applications in miniature atomic clocks, magnetometers, and other quantum sensors.
We present our microwave spectroscopic studies on laser-microwave double-resonance (DR) signals obtained from a micro-fabricated Rb vapor cell.This study focuses on the characteristics and systematic shifts of the ground-state 'clock transition' in 87 Rb (|F g = 1, m F = 0 →| F g = 2, m F = 0 ) used in Rb atomic clocks, and represents a first step toward a miniature atomic clock based on the DR scheme.A short-term clock instability below 2 × 10 11 τ -1/2 is demonstrated, staying below 10 -11 up to τ = 10 4 s.
We present a prospective experimental study on double-resonance Ramsey spectroscopy in a micro fabricated Rb vapor cell, in view of future miniature atomic clocks with improved stability performance. Ramsey signals with a narrow central fringe width of 1.5 kHz combined with a competitive contrast of > 5 % are observed, resulting in a clock short-term stability of ≈ 1×10-11τ−1/2. The employed pulsed optical pumping (POP) scheme bears promise for reduced light-shift effects and thus for improved clock stability on medium- to long-term timescales.
We report on the realization and evaluation of micro-fabricated alkali vapor cells using a thin-film indium bonding technique. Optical and double-resonance spectroscopy performed on the cells demonstrates their suitability for atomic clock applications. Long-term measurements show a stable pressure inside the cells and therefore an excellent hermeticity of the bonding over several months. The low bonding process temperature of ≤ 140°C combined with good bond strength makes this method a promising candidate for realizing micro-fabricated alkali cells with anti-relaxation wall-coatings.
This thesis presents experimental studies on continuous-wave (CW) laser-microwave double-resonance (DR) spectroscopy and metrology in rubidium (87Rb) vapor cells in view of new high-performance, compact Rb-cell atomic clocks. The Rb vapor cell is confined inside a magnetron-type cavity microwave resonator (MWR). The CW DR spectroscopy involves two resonant electromagnetic fields that are operated simultaneously to interrogate the atoms - the optical field to polarize the atoms by optical pumping, and the microwave field to drive the ground-state hyperfine clock transition that serves as an atomic frequency reference. Details on characterization of compact laser heads and microwave synthesizers used in this work are presented. The vapor cell standards are useful in our everyday lives for applications ranging from telecommunications, navigation, metrology etc. In view of improving the performances of the Rb cell standards, two different clock approaches were studied in detail: The first one is on use of vapor cells (1.4 cm3) whose inner walls are coated with anti-relaxation material. A first ever wall-coated cell clock was demonstrated with good short-term frequency stability. The medium- to long-term stability was found to be limited by the temperature coefficient (TC) of the coating material itself. This work gave the insight to important features to be considered in future anti-relaxation coating materials for atomic standards. The second novel approach involves using a bigger cell (12 cm3) within a newly developed, improved MWR towards a high-performance atomic standard. Adopting a larger cell gives a higher atomic Q-factor signal that improves the short-term clock stability. In this approach, the cell was filled with 87Rb and buffer gases. With this clock, we demonstrate the state-of-the-art short-term stability of <1.4×10−13 τ−1/2. Metrological quantitative measurements on parameters influencing the medium- to long-term stability were studied in view of next generation satellite navigation systems that demand a stability level of <1×10−14 at 10 4 s (equivalent to <1 ns/day). The potential of short-term stability and understanding of the limiting factors on medium- to long-term time scales demonstrated in this study pave the way for future work towards the commercialization of high-performance Rb atomic clocks for a variety of applications.