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IEEE/LEOS Summer Topical Meetings

VCSELs in nonlinear spectroscopy: making optical magnetometers and atomic clocks practical

R. Wynands, C. Affolderbach, Leo W. Hollberg, J. Klitching, Svenja A. Knappe, M. Stahler

Published Nov 13, 2002• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have experimentally investigated the potential af narrow coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances for precision applications like magnetometry, miniaturised atomic frequency standards and the determination of atomic g-factors using the D lines in thermal Cs or Rb vapour.
DOI
10.1109/leosst.2001.941886

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Miniaturized laser magnetometers and clocks

R. Wynands, C. Affolderbach, Leo W. Hollberg +3 more

We have experimentally investigated the potential of narrow coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances for precision applications like magnetometry or atomic frequency standards, using the D lines in thermal Cs or Rb vapor. The magnetometer operates by monitoring the position of the Zeeman-shifted outermost resonance component. The central Zeeman component is well suited for frequency standard applications because its position is shifted by magnetic fields only in second order. We derive the required pair of laser fields form a special diode laser by direct modulation of the injection current. Magneto metric sensitivity down to a picotesla and 10-12 relative instability for a finger-sized clock have been achieved in this way. Use of a magnetic gradiometer allows to cancel fluctuations of ambient magnetic fields to a large degree, making possible sensitive measurements even outside magnetically shielded rooms.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Apr 3, 2002•1 citation

Magnetometer and frequency standard based on coherently prepared thermal alkali atomic vapors

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Summary form only given. We have experimentally investigated the potential of narrow coherent population trapping resonances for precision applications like magnetometry or atomic frequency standards. CPT can be observed in /spl Lambda/ systems where two ground states are coupled to a common excited state by two near-resonant light fields. Effective formation of ground state coherences takes place when the frequency difference of the light fields precisely matches the ground state splitting. This process leads to reduced absorption in the medium (electromagnetically induced transparency) and thus reduced fluorescence intensity (dark resonance) at the optical resonance frequency. Extremely narrow dark resonances can be observed when the two light fields have fixed phase and frequency difference and time-of-flight broadening is suppressed by the use of a buffer gas, making this type of system a promising candidate for precision applications. The /spl Lambda/ systems under study here are the D/sub 2/ lines of Cs, /sup 87/Rb and /sup 85/Rb where the ground state hyperfine splittings are 9.2 GHz, 6.8 GHz, and 3.0 GHz, respectively. Thus in a magnetic field the CPT resonance splits into several Zeeman components whose frequency positions are determined by the Breit-Rabi formula.

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Study of lin||lin CPT for application in vapour cell atomic clocks

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We evaluate the use of Coherent Population Trapping (CPT) excited with parallely polarized laser fields in vapour cell atomic clocks. We study the resonance shape, the discriminator slope and signal-to-noise ratio as a function of relevant parameters such as the laser frequency detuning and the applied magnetic field. We show that a stability of $6 \cdot 10^{-12}$ $τ^{-1/2}$ may be reached in a compact system using a modulated VCSEL.

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We have performed a series of experiments demonstrating the use of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser for nonlinear spectroscopy on the cesium D2 transition at 852 nm wavelength. Due to the high modulation efficiency of the VCSEL sufficiently strong modulation sidebands at 9.2 GHz frequency can be produced by direct modulation of the laser injection current. Using, the carrier and one of the modulation sidebands coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances in a buffered cesium vapor can be prepared with linewidths of only 60 Hz. For application of these narrow resonances to precision magnetometry we find a sensitivity of 10 pT in 0.3 s integration time. For the use of our setup as a frequency reference a relative stability of 1 • 10 − 11 / τ is predicted. In both applications of CPT resonances the use of VCSELs as light sources helps to build compact and reliable devices.

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The spectroscopic technique of coherent population trapping (CPT) enables an all-optical interrogation of the groundstate hyperfine splitting of cesium (or rubidium), compared to the optical-microwave double resonance technique conventionally employed in atomic frequency standards. All-optical interrogation enables the reduction of the size and power consumption of an atomic clock by two orders of magnitude, and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are preferred optical sources due to their low power consumption and circular output beam. Several research teams are currently using VCSELs for DARPA's chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC) program with the goal of producing an atomic clock having a volume < 1 cm^3, a power consumption < 30 mW, and an instability (Allan deviation) < 1x10^-11 during a 1-hour averaging interval. This paper describes the VCSEL requirements for CPT-based atomic clocks, which include single mode operation, single polarization operation, modulation bandwidth > 4 GHz, low power consumption (for the CSAC), narrow linewidth, and low relative intensity noise (RIN). A significant manufacturing challenge is to reproducibly obtain the required wavelength at the specified VCSEL operating temperature and drive current. Data are presented that show the advantage of operating at the D1 (rather than D2) resonance of the alkali atoms. Measurements of VCSEL linewidth will be discussed in particular, since atomic clock performance is especially sensitive to this parameter.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Feb 9, 2006•60 citations

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C. Affolderbach, W. Kemp, Svenja A. Knappe +2 more

Summary form only given. We have experimentally investigated the potential of narrow coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances for precision magnetometry. CPT can be observed in /spl Lambda/ systems where two ground states are coupled to a common excited state by two near-resonant light fields. On resonance, effective formation of long-lived ground state coherences which do not couple in the light fields leads to reduced absorption in the medium ("electromagnetically induced transparency") and thus reduced fluorescence intensity ("dark resonance"). Extremely narrow CPT resonances can be observed when the light fields have fixed phase and frequency difference and time-of-flight broadening is suppressed by the use of a buffer gas, making this type of system a promising candidate for precision applications.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Aug 29, 2005•0 citations
We have experimentally investigated the potential of narrow coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances for precision applications like magnetometry or atomic frequency standards, using the D lines in thermal Cs or Rb vapor. The magnetometer operates by monitoring the position of the Zeeman-shifted outermost resonance component. The central Zeeman component is well suited for frequency standard applications because its position is shifted by magnetic fields only in second order. We derive the required pair of laser fields form a special diode laser by direct modulation of the injection current. Magneto metric sensitivity down to a picotesla and 10-12 relative instability for a finger-sized clock have been achieved in this way. Use of a magnetic gradiometer allows to cancel fluctuations of ambient magnetic fields to a large degree, making possible sensitive measurements even outside magnetically shielded rooms.
Summary form only given. We have experimentally investigated the potential of narrow coherent population trapping resonances for precision applications like magnetometry or atomic frequency standards. CPT can be observed in /spl Lambda/ systems where two ground states are coupled to a common excited state by two near-resonant light fields. Effective formation of ground state coherences takes place when the frequency difference of the light fields precisely matches the ground state splitting. This process leads to reduced absorption in the medium (electromagnetically induced transparency) and thus reduced fluorescence intensity (dark resonance) at the optical resonance frequency. Extremely narrow dark resonances can be observed when the two light fields have fixed phase and frequency difference and time-of-flight broadening is suppressed by the use of a buffer gas, making this type of system a promising candidate for precision applications. The /spl Lambda/ systems under study here are the D/sub 2/ lines of Cs, /sup 87/Rb and /sup 85/Rb where the ground state hyperfine splittings are 9.2 GHz, 6.8 GHz, and 3.0 GHz, respectively. Thus in a magnetic field the CPT resonance splits into several Zeeman components whose frequency positions are determined by the Breit-Rabi formula.
We evaluate the use of Coherent Population Trapping (CPT) excited with parallely polarized laser fields in vapour cell atomic clocks. We study the resonance shape, the discriminator slope and signal-to-noise ratio as a function of relevant parameters such as the laser frequency detuning and the applied magnetic field. We show that a stability of 6⋅10−126 \cdot 10^{-12}6⋅10−12 τ−1/2τ^{-1/2}τ−1/2 may be reached in a compact system using a modulated VCSEL.
We have performed a series of experiments demonstrating the use of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser for nonlinear spectroscopy on the cesium D2 transition at 852 nm wavelength. Due to the high modulation efficiency of the VCSEL sufficiently strong modulation sidebands at 9.2 GHz frequency can be produced by direct modulation of the laser injection current. Using, the carrier and one of the modulation sidebands coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances in a buffered cesium vapor can be prepared with linewidths of only 60 Hz. For application of these narrow resonances to precision magnetometry we find a sensitivity of 10 pT in 0.3 s integration time. For the use of our setup as a frequency reference a relative stability of 1 • 10 − 11 / τ is predicted. In both applications of CPT resonances the use of VCSELs as light sources helps to build compact and reliable devices.
The spectroscopic technique of coherent population trapping (CPT) enables an all-optical interrogation of the groundstate hyperfine splitting of cesium (or rubidium), compared to the optical-microwave double resonance technique conventionally employed in atomic frequency standards. All-optical interrogation enables the reduction of the size and power consumption of an atomic clock by two orders of magnitude, and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are preferred optical sources due to their low power consumption and circular output beam. Several research teams are currently using VCSELs for DARPA's chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC) program with the goal of producing an atomic clock having a volume < 1 cm^3, a power consumption < 30 mW, and an instability (Allan deviation) < 1x10^-11 during a 1-hour averaging interval. This paper describes the VCSEL requirements for CPT-based atomic clocks, which include single mode operation, single polarization operation, modulation bandwidth > 4 GHz, low power consumption (for the CSAC), narrow linewidth, and low relative intensity noise (RIN). A significant manufacturing challenge is to reproducibly obtain the required wavelength at the specified VCSEL operating temperature and drive current. Data are presented that show the advantage of operating at the D1 (rather than D2) resonance of the alkali atoms. Measurements of VCSEL linewidth will be discussed in particular, since atomic clock performance is especially sensitive to this parameter.
Summary form only given. We have experimentally investigated the potential of narrow coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances for precision magnetometry. CPT can be observed in /spl Lambda/ systems where two ground states are coupled to a common excited state by two near-resonant light fields. On resonance, effective formation of long-lived ground state coherences which do not couple in the light fields leads to reduced absorption in the medium ("electromagnetically induced transparency") and thus reduced fluorescence intensity ("dark resonance"). Extremely narrow CPT resonances can be observed when the light fields have fixed phase and frequency difference and time-of-flight broadening is suppressed by the use of a buffer gas, making this type of system a promising candidate for precision applications.