This thesis details the construction of a portable platform for cold atom experiments, as part of the European iSense project. This culminated in the demonstration of a working portable cold atom interferometer to the praise of the EC and reviewers during the final project meeting. Reductions in the size, weight and power consumption of all the crucial components for a cold atom system such as lasers, optics, magnetic field generation and electronics have been realised. These novel components have been integrated into a portable device that has been transported and operated by just two people. The completed device weighs 63 kg and uses 240 W power in a volume of just 61.1 litres. The system has generated a cloud of (6.7±0.7)x 10\(^6\) rubidium-87 atoms at a temperature of 4.4 μK in 2 seconds using a mirror-MOT setup. The device has successfully performed atom interferometry in the form of a Ramsey interferometer both at the University of Birmingham, UK and also at an office in Brussels, BE after a journey of 570 km. A measurement of the hyperfine splitting of the ground state of rubidium-87 was performed and gives an uncertainty of \(\delta\)\(\omega\)/\(\omega\) = 5.2 × 10\(^-\)\(^7\). The theoretical limit of the sensitivity to gravity of the iSense system is 3.9 μGal/√Hz.
This thesis details the construction of a portable platform for cold atom experiments, as part of the European iSense project. This culminated in the demonstration of a working portable cold atom interferometer to the praise of the EC and reviewers during the final project meeting. Reductions in the size, weight and power consumption of all the crucial components for a cold atom system such as lasers, optics, magnetic field generation and electronics have been realised. These novel components have been integrated into a portable device that has been transported and operated by just two people. The completed device weighs 63 kg and uses 240 W power in a volume of just 61.1 litres. The system has generated a cloud of (6.7±0.7)x 10(^6) rubidium-87 atoms at a temperature of 4.4 μK in 2 seconds using a mirror-MOT setup. The device has successfully performed atom interferometry in the form of a Ramsey interferometer both at the University of Birmingham, UK and also at an office in Brussels, BE after a journey of 570 km. A measurement of the hyperfine splitting of the ground state of rubidium-87 was performed and gives an uncertainty of (\delta)(\omega)/(\omega) = 5.2 × 10(^-)(^7). The theoretical limit of the sensitivity to gravity of the iSense system is 3.9 μGal/√Hz.
This thesis describes the construction of a portable cold atom gravimeter with the aim to be employed in remote locations. Two species of alkali atoms would be eventually used, namely Rubidium-87 and Cesium-133. The advantage of such a system is shorter duty cycle, and shorter dead time. In this thesis we focus on the experimental realization of a Rubidium-87 gravimeter, using the Ramsey-Bord´e interferometry method first described by C. Bord´e, and employed by Kasevich et. al. Approximately 10^8 atoms are laser cooled and trapped to a MOT and further cooled by a optical molasses to a temperature of 12μK. Two counterpropagating Raman beams separated by a frequency matching the ground state hyperfine splitting will be used to excite stimulated Raman transitions to place the atoms into a superposition of the two ground metastable states. This thesis describes in detail the vacuum system and the laser systems built to cool and trap the atoms and to produce the Raman beams to perform the Ramsey sequence. The thesis covers also the relevant theory related to our experiment.
The work presented in this thesis focusses on the development of a transportable atom-interferometry experiment and a compact fibre laser system towards precision measurements of gravitational acceleration. Interference fringes are shown with clouds of cold 87Rb atoms using co-propagating laser beams to drive stimulated Raman transitions. This is demonstrated both inside and outside of laboratory environments for which an integrated and transportable experiment is constructed. Further improvements are presented that enable the generation of clouds containing 1.7 · 108 atoms at a rate of 2.5 Hz and having a temperature of (7 ± 1) µK. This is largely due to the development of a compact laser system based on all-fibre coupled components. It is demonstrated that the laser system designed here can achieve fast frequency sweeps over 1.8 GHz within 2 ms, making it widely applicable in compact atom-interferometry experiments with rubidium atoms. This is shown by creating a Mach–Zehnder type interferometer with counter-propagating Raman beams, thus enabling measurements of gravitational acceleration. Since the laser system uses only two lasers and one fibre amplifier, a significant reduction in size is achieved, as well as a decrease in the total power consumption of the overall experiment by a third to (162 ± 7) W.
Atom interferometry has hugely benefitted from advances made in cold atom physics over the past twenty years, and ultra-precise quantum sensors are now available for a wide range of applications [1]. In particular, cold atom interferometers have shown excellent performances in the field of acceleration and rotation measurements [2,3], and are foreseen as promising candidates for navigation, geophysics, geo-prospecting and tests of fundamental physics such as the Universality of Free Fall (UFF). In order to carry out a test of the UFF with atoms as test masses, one needs to compare precisely the accelerations of two atoms with different masses as they fall in the Earth’s gravitational field. The sensitivity of atom interferometers scales like the square of the time during which the atoms are in free fall, and on ground this interrogation time is limited by the size of the experimental setup to a fraction of a second. Sending an atom interferometer in space would allow for several seconds of excellent free-fall conditions, and tests of the UFF could be carried out with precisions as low as 10-15 [4]. However, cold atoms experiments rely on complex laser systems, which are needed to cool down and manipulate the atoms, and these systems are usually very sensitive to temperature fluctuations and vibrations. In addition, when operating an inertial sensor, vibrations are a major issue, as they deteriorate the performances of the instrument. This is why cold atom interferometers are usually used in ground based facilities, which provide stable enough environments. In order to carry out airborne or space-borne measurements, one has to design an instrument which is both compact and stable, and such that vibrations induced by the platform will not deteriorate the sensitivity of the sensor. We report on the operation of an atom interferometer on board a plane carrying out parabolic flights (Airbus A300 Zero-G, operated by Novespace). We have constructed a compact and stable laser setup, which is well suited for onboard applications. Our goal is to implement a dual-species Rb-K atom interferometer in order to carry out a test of the UFF in the plane. In this perspective, we are designing a dual-wavelength laser source, which will enable us to cool down and coherently manipulate the quantum states of both atoms. We have successfully tested a preliminary version of the source and obtained a double species magneto-optical trap (MOT).
Atom Interferometry methods open new prospectives for absolute acceleration measurements; the quantum features of matter and the employment of atomic test masses with manipulation technique of internal and external degrees of freedom lead to a new generation of quantum sensors. In this thesis I present the development of a prototype for a transportable sensor at system and subsystem level. An instrument with such characteristics can find applications in many felds. The work has been developed in the framework of two European projects respectively oriented to the realization of an atom interferometry based absolute gravimeter for geophysical and metrological applications and to the realization of a Space Atom Interferometer for tests in micro-gravity environment. In order to focus on the possible scientific landscape I briefy illustrate in the introduction the existing devices and their characteristic performances, pointing out how the atom interferometry may represent a valid alternative leading to a new generation of quantum devices. The study, the development and the realization stages for our instrument are presented either for the laser system realization and for the the implementation of the whole apparatus. This work leads to the development of a very compact atomic physics interferometric system responding to the scientific requirements that represent our target. From the laser system side it has been realized also a complete and compact apparatus organized in a modular framework with stand alone components characterized by high working performances. This laser subsystem also includes laser sources in an external cavity configuration specially oriented to transportable apparatuses; they are characterized by an intrinsical passive stability, robustness and very narrow emission linewidth. The experience with neutral atom manipulation and with atom cooling and trapping technique has been integrated with a direct implementation, characterization and optimization of a Two Dimensional Magneto Optical Trap as a cold atoms source for an operating Atom Interferometer. Such kind of implementation represents a fundamental topic for a transportable sensor realization.
This work describes the technology developed for the transportable gravity gradiometer, ''GGtop", constructed at the University of Birmingham. The device aims to simultaneously interrogate two physically separated, free-falling cold atom clouds using the technique of Raman interferometry to perform differential gravity measurements. Such a technique will suppress common-mode noise sources, such as vibrations, that otherwise limit classical gravimeters and cold atom interferometers based on single-cloud measurements. The technique is expected to improve speed and sensitivity for field measurements greatly. \nUsing a combination of commercially available components and novel designs, intended to enhance portability and robustness, allowed for demonstration of atomic interference with the apparatus via Ramsey's method of separated oscillatory fields. The achieved fringe contrast of ~2%, defined as the difference in the number of atoms detected in IF = 2>, was limited by drifts stemming from some of the novel designs which prompted continued optimisation of the underpinning subsystems. To address performance issues parts of the experiment were redesigned with the goal of improving reliability at the expense of some portability. Using the retrofitted experiment, interference was once again achieved with fitted fringe spacing of 134.7±2.0 uS in good agreement with the 133.9 uS defined by the experimental control. A factor of 10 improvement in contrast was found with the central fringe demonstrating 18% of the atoms detected in the IF = 2> state when normalised to the total 3D MOT number. The 3.71 ± 0.01 kHz fitted linewidth of the central fringe gives a frequency uncertainty of 5.43 ± 0.01 x 10 - 7. This result leaves the experiment in a good position to begin making measurements of gravity.
Atomic interferometry is a highly precise metrological technique of interest to both fundamental and applied physics. One field in which atomic interferometry is of particular interest is gravimetry, where instruments based upon the controlled manipulation of atomic states have superseded the performance of classical devices. In such devices, a standing wave derived from laser beams with well-defined phase difference are used to impart momentum to atoms undergoing free fall, generating spatial superpositions along the axis of gravity, before returning the atoms to an overlapped final state for recombination. This thesis presents the design and experimental progress towards a gravity gradiometer based upon the interference of rubidium-87 atoms, cooled and launched in a fountain configuration. The fountain is leveraged from a decommissioned frequency standard, which has been re-purposed and redesigned for use as a combined absolute gravimeter and gravity gradiometer package. It is capable of loading 100 billion atoms in 100 ms and then cooling and launching these atoms in a moving molasses configuration, with a final temperature of 5 μK. Furthermore, the process can be quickly repeated, with a second cloud subsequently launched, reaching its apogee at the same time as the first cloud, allowing for the possibility of simultaneous measurement at different heights and, in the future, the inference of the gravity gradient. Control of the fountain is provided by a stable and miniaturised optical setup, allowing for use with a future transportable or field-based device. A Raman beam system to perform the interferometry sequence has been constructed and characterised, likewise designed in a minaturised and stable manner. The Raman beams simultaneously generated Ramsey interference fringes on two independent clouds of atoms -- one launched to a height of 0.7 m and the other to 1 m. Such fringes were clearly observable after 200 ms of evolution time. Mach-Zehnder interference fringes were also demonstrated for dropped and launched atoms, providing the capability for gravimetric measurements to be made once the system has been fully characterised. The principle causes of noise in the Mach-Zehnder cases were identified as arriving from a lack of atoms and the phase noise of the Raman beams. To overcome these challenges, a new Raman beam system has been preliminary designed and tested and a new iteration of the fountain, moving towards quantum degeneracy, has been planned.