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Optics Express

Noise-suppressing and lock-free optical interferometer for cold atom experiments

Xiao-Xiao Ma, Xian Zhang, Kaikai Huang, Xuanhui Lu

Published Aug 28, 2020• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A novel noise-suppressing and lock-free interferometer is proposed and experimentally demonstrated in the study of the quantum non-destructive (QND) interaction of cold atoms. A QND measurement based on far-off resonant dispersive probing is usually carried out by a Mach-Zehnder type interferometer. It is an experimental challenge in its own right to reduce the classical noise, such as acoustic noise, phase noise and amplitude noise of lasers, and to lock the interferometer at the white-light position that corresponds to a nearly zero path-length difference. Here, we report an interferometer with an inserted acousto-optic modulator (AOM). It is noise immune and lock-free in principle. The experiments show that the new interferometer is able to measure cold atoms for more than 30 minutes and reduce the phase noise by about 30 dB.

DOI
10.1364/oe.400356

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A novel noise-suppressing and lock-free interferometer is proposed and experimentally demonstrated in the study of the quantum non-destructive (QND) interaction of cold atoms. A QND measurement based on far-off resonant dispersive probing is usually carried out by a Mach-Zehnder type interferometer. It is an experimental challenge in its own right to reduce the classical noise, such as acoustic noise, phase noise and amplitude noise of lasers, and to lock the interferometer at the white-light position that corresponds to a nearly zero path-length difference. Here, we report an interferometer with an inserted acousto-optic modulator (AOM). It is noise immune and lock-free in principle. The experiments show that the new interferometer is able to measure cold atoms for more than 30 minutes and reduce the phase noise by about 30 dB.
We proposed and realized a low noise measurement method based on differential optical interferometer to measure trapped cold atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). The configuration is based on a Mach-Zehnder type interferometer, which is composed of two beams of different frequencies. A long-term stability in phase monitor has been obtained by use of the vibration immune mechanism through subtraction of the interferograms imaged on the two photodetectors. With this new configuration, the noise caused by environmental perturbation is greatly reduced at low frequency while the signal of phase shift keeps a good long-term stability.
An experimental study was carried out on the performance of a feedback stabilization scheme for optical interferometers. Optical interferometers are susceptible to acoustic noise which translates into path length fluctuations in the interferometer arms. These fluctuations induce phase noise, resulting in amplitude fluctuations on the interferometer output. The experiment was performed on a Mach-Zehnder homodyne interferometer where a RMS noise reduction of 23 dB was observed. The stabilization scheme has application to other interferometer configurations. In the future, it will be applied to stabilize cavities used in the squeezed state generation of light. (Author)
This thesis investigates the generation of atomic spin-squeezed states by quantum non-demolition (QND) measurements in a high-finesse optical cavity. Cold atom interferometry has demonstrated state of the art performance for the measurement of tiny rotations, accelerations and time. The sensitivity of atom interferometers has already reached the atomic shot noise level, a limit that could be overcome by the use of non-classical atomic states. In this context, we developed a crossed high-finesse cavity resonating both at 1560 nm and 780 nm. Laser light at 1560 nm injected in the cavity generates a far off resonance optical dipole trap where Rb 87 cold atoms are loaded from a magneto-optical trap. The lifetime of the atoms in this dipole trap is limited by the residual background collisions, indicating that further evaporation process should be effective. The concepts of QND measurement are introduced and a wavefunction formalism that describes the spin-squeezing dynamics of the atomic state is discussed. This formalism is applied to practical measurement apparatus that are the Mach-Zehnder interferometer and the heterodyne detection. Experimentally, this non-destructive measurement was implemented at 780 nm in a frequency modulation scheme strongly immune to noise. The influence of this non-demolition probe on the atomic sample has been characterized in single pass and this tool has been applied to follow in real time the state of atomic interferometers. In addition to this work, a narrow linewidth Raman laser suitable for high precision spectroscopy was implemented with cold atoms as the gain medium.
Rapid and fine control over the phase of light is demonstrated by transferring digitally generated phase jumps from radio-frequency electrical signals onto light by means of acousto-optic interaction, and the underlying mechanism elucidated. This technique was used to engineer optical phase noise by tailoring the statistics of phase jumps in the electrical signal, which was then quantified using visibility measurements of the interference fringes. Such controlled dephasing finds applications in modern experiments involving the spread or diffusion of light in optical networks. In addition, the zero-delay intensity-intensity correlation [G2(0)] values of light emerging from different ports of a well-stabilized Mach-Zehnder interferometer in the presence of engineered partial phase noise are calculated, and it is shown analytically how the dark port of the interferometer nontrivially becomes a weak source of highly correlated or bunched photons.
We investigate theoretically and experimentally a nondestructive interferometric measurement of the state population of an ensemble of laser-cooled and trapped atoms. This study is a step toward generation of (pseudo)spin squeezing of cold atoms targeted at the improvement of the cesium clock performance beyond the limit set by the quantum projection noise of atoms. We calculate the phase shift and the quantum noise of a near-resonant optical probe pulse propagating through a cloud of cold 133Cs^{133}\mathrm{Cs}133Cs atoms. We analyze the figure of merit for a quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement of the collective pseudospin and show that it can be expressed simply as a product of the ensemble optical density and the pulse-integrated rate of the spontaneous emission caused by the off-resonant probe light. Based on this, we propose a protocol for the sequence of operations required to generate and utilize spin squeezing for the improved atomic clock performance via a QND measurement on the probe light. In the experimental part we demonstrate that the interferometric measurement of the atomic population can reach a sensitivity of the order of Nat\sqrt{{N}_{\mathrm{at}}}Nat​​ in a cloud of Nat{N}_{\mathrm{at}}Nat​ cold atoms, which is an important benchmark toward the experimental realization of the theoretically analyzed protocol.
Atom interferometers measure the relative phase shifts between coherent matter-wave paths that arise from interactions with external fields or inertial forces. Due to their exceptional phase sensitivity, atom interferometers became an essential tool for precision measurements and fundamental physics experiments, finding applications in geodesy, gravimetry, and inertial navigation. However, their measurement precision is limited by quantum projection noise, which arises from the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, preventing the measurement of atomic states with absolute precision. The generation of entanglement between the atoms offers a path to surpass this so-called standard quantum limit, thereby enhancing the interferometer’s phase sensitivity beyond classical measurement bounds. This thesis reports on the development of an atom interferometer experiment designed to realize cavity-mediated, squeezed Mach-Zehnder-type interferometry with ultra-cold 87Rb atoms. The experiment combines cavity-aided spin-squeezing with cavity-mediated Mach-Zehnder interferometry to demonstrate entanglement-enhanced phase sensitivity. The experiment is centered on a triangular optical cavity that mediates all relevant atom-light interactions. The cavity provides optical trapping, spin-squeezing, and Raman beam-splitter operations, enabling to perform interferometry on a continuously trapped atomic ensemble. The thesis elaborates on the fundamental theoretical framework, the cavity design, and the full optical setup, including the detailed configuration of the developed laser stabilization methods. Experimentally, continuous loading methods were explored, resulting in an accumulation of up to 4 × 106 atoms in the dipole trap within a cycle time of 500 ms. The AC Stark shift compensation method developed for continuous loading was further applied for in-trap cooling to 10 µK, and optical pumping for efficient atomic state preparation. Coherent state control was verified via observation of microwave-driven Rabi oscillations, and used to characterize atom-cavity coupling. These presented results establish the experimental groundwork for the future development of cavity-mediated, entanglement-enhanced Mach-Zehnder-type atom interferometry.