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Joint Conference of the European Frequency and Time Forum and IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (EFTF/IFCS)

A large mode optical resonator for enhanced atom interferometry

Sapam Ranjita Chanu, N. Mielec, David Holleville, Bess Fang, Arnaud Landragin, Rémi Geiger, Isabelle Riou, B. Canuel

Published Jul 1, 2017• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The development of atom interferometry in the last few decades has led to high precision measurements of inertial effects and tests of fundamental physics. New methods for higher sensitivity atom interferometers (AIs) are being explored, particularly the interrogation of atoms with optical cavities [1]. Its benefits would be higher optical power allowing large momentum transfer beam splitters, and possibly cleaner and controlled phase profiles. However high sensitivity AIs require long interrogation times, which combined with cold atom expansion, bring the challenges of large waists in cavities.

DOI
10.1109/fcs.2017.8088989

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We propose and demonstrate a new scheme for atom interferometry, using light pulses inside an optical cavity as matter wave beam splitters. The cavity provides power enhancement, spatial filtering, and a precise beam geometry, enabling new techniques such as low power beam splitters (<100 μW), large momentum transfer beam splitters with modest power, or new self-aligned interferometer geometries utilizing the transverse modes of the optical cavity. As a first demonstration, we obtain Ramsey-Raman fringes with >75% contrast and measure the acceleration due to gravity, g, to 60 μg/sqrt[Hz] resolution in a Mach-Zehnder geometry. We use >10(7) cesium atoms in the compact mode volume (600 μm 1/e(2) waist) of the cavity and show trapping of atoms in higher transverse modes. This work paves the way toward compact, high sensitivity, multiaxis interferometry.
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