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AIP conference proceedings

Nuclear spin decoherence time in MEMS atomic vapor cells for applications in quantum technologies

Gilles Buchs, Sylvain Karlen, Thomas Overstolz, Nicolas Torcheboeuf, Emmanuel Onillon, Jacques Haesler, D. L. Boïko

Published Jan 1, 2018• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report on the fabrication and characterization of MEMS atomic vapor cells suitable for applications in miniaturized quantum sensors such as atomic gyroscopes. Our MEMS cells are filled with natural abundance Rb alkali atoms and enriched noble Xe atoms and are operated in the regime of spin exchange optical pumping. The transverse relaxation time T2* of the nuclear spin in 129Xe atoms directly defines the angular random walk parameter of an atomic gyroscope. Using a field switch technique, we measure the dephasing time T2* of the 129Xe isotope as a function of temperature. Our results showing a decrease of T2* from about 1 to 0.4 seconds with an increasing temperature in the range from 80 to 150 °C are in good agreement with a simple theoretical model taking into account the most important decoherence mechanisms. We show that the observed decoherence behavior can be mostly explained trough collisions of the Xe atoms with the walls. Further characterization steps in order to gain more insight in the decoherence physics involved in our MEMS cells are discussed.

DOI
10.1063/1.5025449

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We report on the fabrication and characterization of MEMS atomic vapor cells suitable for applications in miniaturized quantum sensors such as atomic gyroscopes. Our MEMS cells are filled with natural abundance Rb alkali atoms and enriched noble Xe atoms and are operated in the regime of spin exchange optical pumping. The transverse relaxation time T2* of the nuclear spin in 129Xe atoms directly defines the angular random walk parameter of an atomic gyroscope. Using a field switch technique, we measure the dephasing time T2* of the 129Xe isotope as a function of temperature. Our results showing a decrease of T2* from about 1 to 0.4 seconds with an increasing temperature in the range from 80 to 150 °C are in good agreement with a simple theoretical model taking into account the most important decoherence mechanisms. We show that the observed decoherence behavior can be mostly explained trough collisions of the Xe atoms with the walls. Further characterization steps in order to gain more insight in the decoherence physics involved in our MEMS cells are discussed.
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Research on the electric quadrupole frequency shift mechanism and nuclear spin relaxation of 129 Xe– 131 Xe in alkali metal atomic vapor cells fabricated using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology remains in its early stages. Therefore, an in-depth investigation in this field is crucial for enhancing the performance of miniaturized atomic gyroscopes and other quantum devices. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the electric quadrupole frequency shift and relaxation of 129 Xe– 131 Xe nuclear spins in a stemless cubic MEMS vapor cell. To elucidate the microscopic characteristics of wall interactions, nuclear spin quadrupole interactions with mixed silicon and glass surfaces in MEMS vapor cells were examined. The influence of the angle between the vapor cell’s geometric axis and the applied magnetic field on the electric quadrupole frequency shift was investigated, leading to the determination of the vapor cell’s asymmetry parameter η and the average twist angle ⟨ θ ⟩ of nuclear spin-wall collisions. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the electric quadrupole frequency shift in 131 Xe atoms was characterized, enabling the extraction of the desorption activation energy ( E A ) of 131 Xe on the MEMS vapor cell surface. By analyzing the free induction decay (FID) signals of 129 Xe and 131 Xe at varying temperatures, the relationship between their relaxation rates and temperature was established. These findings offer valuable insights for optimizing nuclear spin relaxation times in microatomic gyroscopes.
The combination of MEMS technology with atomic spin devices could fabricate chip scale atomic sensors. In most of the atomic devices based on alkali metals, the key component is an alkali vapor cell. Here we describe an alkali vapor cell fabrication technic for atomic spin gyroscope study. In the alkali vapor cell, alkali metal is filled in an oxygen and water free glovebox and noble gas isotopes such as129Xe and131Xe are also filled. Compared to an atomic magnetometer, in an atomic spin gyroscope, the isotope enriched noble gases are typically very expensive. We need to do recycling of these expensive gases after filling in the anode bonding chamber or else the gases will be wasted. Due to the large volume of the anode bonding chamber utilized in the fabrication process, a recycling platform is built based on liquid nitrogen. The relaxation time is a very important parameter of an alkali vapor cell. We developed a platform with magnetic field shielding system, non-magnetic field heating and single beam atomic spin detection subsystem. The spin relaxation time of the noble gases is tested in this study.
An experimental setup to fabricate atomic vapor cells for atom spin gyroscope application, containing 87Rb, 129Xe, 131Xe, N2, and H2, is described. The setup comprises a high-vacuum chamber, an 87Rb ampule, a glass cell, gas lines, and a turbopump. First, the glass cell is baked for a week at 450 °C to reduce outgassing from the inner walls of the glass cell. Next, rubidium atoms are evaporated into the cubic glass cell. Then, the cubic glass cell is cooled to 2 °C to increase the amount of 87Rb in the cubic glass cell while the vacuum chamber is heated to 100 °C. 6 Torr of 129Xe, 48 Torr of 131Xe, 140 Torr of N2, and 24 Torr of H2 are injected into the cubic glass cell. The sealing method employs pinch-off glass welding. The transverse spin relaxation times of 129Xe and 131Xe at a magnetic field of 6.2 µT applied to the quantization axis are measured to be 8.1 and 16.5 s, respectively, at a cell temperature of 96 °C using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The pressure ratio between 129Xe and 131Xe is determined by comparing the output signals from our atom spin gyroscope. The signal-to-noise ratios are 2500 for 129Xe and 3333 for 131Xe, respectively, and the expected angular random walk of the atom spin gyroscope is 0.062°/h1/2 with a 1-Hz repetition rate.
The spin polarization of 87Rb and 129Xe atomic ensemble has great impact on the signal intensity of a nuclear magnetic resonance gyroscope. The coupled spin polarization modelling process for 87Rb and 129Xe atoms ensemble is presented in detail. Three dimensional spatial distribution of the spin polarization field is obtained by numerical solution and is in good agreement with the experiment results. Influencing factors including temperature, power and detuned frequency of the pumping laser, average collision times of anti-relaxation coatings and partial pressure of gas composition are investigated. The work presents an indirect method to estimate the average collision times given the Xe polarization with different temperatures. It is found the average collision times of the 129Xe atoms with the inner surface of a bare glass cell of 3×3×3mm3 can reach up to about 2.7×105 times. It is also found that the pumping frequency corresponding to the maximum polarization of the Xe atoms polarized by spin exchange of Rb atoms is not consistent with the D1 line of the 87Rb atom when the temperature of the cell is above a certain temperature, but is detuned at a certain frequency. Quantitative analysis of the effect of anti-relaxation coatings on the spin polarization suggests that the appropriate average number of collisions of the Rb atoms with the inner surface of the cell is about 1500 times.
Accurate characterization of atomic vapor cells is crucial for enhancing the sensitivity of miniature atomic magnetometers. In this study, a fast and efficient approach is developed to characterize relaxation properties of the inner surface of the 87Rb micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) vapor cell. Based on the zero-field level crossing effect, the transverse relaxation rate was experimentally determined, and the depolarization coefficient of 0.097 for atom-wall collisions in the 87Rb MEMS vapor cell was obtained. The experiments demonstrated that the alkali-wall collision relaxation gradually dominates the depolarization of the 87Rb ensemble as the radius of the vapor cell decreases. This research provides a quantitative method to evaluate the effectiveness of the MEMS vapor cell anti-relaxation coatings and offers the design inspiration for MEMS atomic vapor cells from the perspective of relaxation characterization. It is beneficial for the development of weak magnetic field detections such as biomagnetism detection in ambient environments.