Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Interleaved atom interferometry for high sensitivity inertial measurements

Matteo Altorio, Romain Gautier, Denis Savoie, Leonid A. Sidorenkov, Rémi Geiger, Arnaud Landragin

Published Apr 8, 2019• 72 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Cold-atom inertial sensors target several applications in navigation, geoscience and tests of fundamental physics. Reaching high sampling rates and high inertial sensitivities, obtained with long interrogation times, represents a challenge for these applications. We report on the interleaved operation of a cold-atom gyroscope, where 3 atomic clouds are interrogated simultaneously in an atom interferometer featuring a 3.75 Hz sampling rate and an interrogation time of 801 ms. Interleaving improves the inertial sensitivity by efficiently averaging vibration noise, and allows us to perform dynamic rotation measurements in a so-far unexplored range. We demonstrate a stability of $3\times 10^{-10}$ rad.s$^{-1}$, which competes with the best stability levels obtained with fiber-optics gyroscopes. Our work validates interleaving as a key concept for future atom-interferometry sensors probing time-varying signals, as in on-board navigation and gravity-gradiometry, searches for dark matter, or gravitational wave detection.

Related papers

Interleaved Atom Interferometry for High Sensitivity Inertial Measurements

Denis Savoie, Matteo Altorio, Bess Fang +3 more

We report on interleaved operation of a cold-atom inertial sensor, where three atomic clouds are simultaneously probed in an atom interferometer featuring 4 Hz sampling rate and interrogation time of 801 ms. Interleaving improves the inertial sensitivity by efficiently averaging vibration noise and allows us to perform dynamic rotation measurements in a so far unexplored range. We demonstrate sensitivity of 30 nrad.s-1·Hz-1/2and reach the long-term stability of 3·10-10rads-1, which competes with the best stability levels obtained with fiber-optic gyroscopes. Our work validated interleaving as a key concept for future atom-interferometry sensors probing time-varying signals, as in on-board navigation and gravity gradiometry, searches for dark matter, or gravitational wave detection.

Joint Conference of the European Frequency and Time Forum and IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (EFTF/IFCS)•Apr 1, 2019•12 citations

Interleaved matter-wave gyroscope with 3.10−10 rad/s stability

Arnaud Landragin, Matteo Altorio, Denis Savoie +4 more

Cold-atom inertial sensors target several applications in navigation,geoscience and tests of fundamental physics. Reaching high samplingrates and high inertial sensitivities, obtained with long interrogationtimes, represents a challenge for these applications. We report on theinterleaved operation of a cold-atom gyroscope, where 3 atomic cloudsare interrogated simultaneously in an atom interferometer featuring a3.75 Hz sampling rate and an interrogation time of 801 ms. Interleavingimproves the inertial sensitivity to 3×10-9 rad.s-1.Hz-1/2 byefficiently averaging vibration noise, and allows us to perform dynamicrotation measurements in a so-far unexplored range. We demonstrate astability of 3×10-10 rad.s-1 after 30 000 s, which competes with thebest stability levels obtained with fiber-optics gyroscopes. Our workvalidates interleaving as a key concept for future atom-interferometrysensors probing time-varying signals, as in on-board navigation andgravity-gradiometry, searches for dark matter, or gravitational wavedetection.

•Apr 7, 2019•0 citations

Interleaved atom interferometry for high-sensitivity inertial measurements

Denis Savoie, Matteo Altorio, Bess Fang +3 more

, which competes with the best stability levels obtained with fiber-optic gyroscopes. Our work validates interleaving as a key concept for future atom-interferometry sensors probing time-varying signals, as in on-board navigation and gravity gradiometry, searches for dark matter, or gravitational wave detection.

arXiv:1808.10801•Science Advances•Dec 7, 2018•230 citations

Interleaved Matter-Wave Gyroscope with 3 × 10−10 rad.s−1 Stability

Rémi Geiger, Denis Savoie, Matteo Altorio +2 more

We present a matter-wave gyroscope with 11 cm2Sagnac area operating without dead times and at a sampling frequency of 3.75 Hz. This is achieved by interleaving the atom laser-cooling step and the interrogation of the atoms. We demonstrate a record short term sensitivity of 30 nrad.s-1. Hz-1/2, which allows us to characterize and stabilize systematic effects below 3×10-10rad.s-1after 15 000 seconds of integration time. Such level of stability competes with best long term stabilities obtained with fiber-optics gyroscopes, and paves the way for applications of cold-atom sensors in inertial navigation or geoscience.

Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements•Jul 1, 2018•1 citation

Inertial ultra-cold atom sensors in weightlessness

Baptiste Battelier, Philippe Bouyer, Arnaud Landragin +3 more

Quantum technology based on cold-atom interferometers is showing great promise for fields such as inertial sensing and fundamental physics. However, the best precision achievable on Earth is limited by the free-fall time of the atoms, and their full potential can only be realized in Space where interrogation times of many seconds will lead to unprecedented sensitivity. Various mission scenarios are presently being pursued, which plan to implement matter-waves inertial sensors to detect gravitational waves, to measure the Earth gravity field or to test fundamental physics such as the Equivalence Principle.We developed a cold atom sensor experiment adapted to microgravity platforms, especially the ZERO-G plane. To achieve a test of the Universality of Free Fall, we realize the first onboard operation of simultaneous ^{87}Rb - ^{39}K interferometers in the weightlessness environment produced during parabolic flight. The large vibration levels (10 ^{-2} g/Hz ^{1/2}), acceleration range and rotation rates (5 deg/s) during flight present significant technical challenges for atom interferometers. By hybridizing each atomic sensor with a common mechanical accelerometer, we achieve a sensitivity of 3.4 10 ^{-5} g per shot-more than 1600 times below the ambient vibration level onboard the aircraft. We demonstrate the capability of our dual-quantum sensor by measuring the Eötvös parameter with systematic-limited uncertainties of 3.0 10 ^{-4} during micro-gravity. This constitutes the first quantum test of the equivalence principle in a free falling vehicle. Our results can be extended to the trajectory of a satellite for future Space missions. We also achieved a simultaneous ^{87}Rb- ^{39}K interferometer on ground with a long term stability on the differential acceleration measurement around 5 10 ^{-8}g, limited by the fall of the atom clouds. To increase the interrogation time and the sensitivity, a ZERO-G simulator has been installed in our laboratory and allows our experiment to be in free fall during 500 ms every 12 seconds, to achieve highly repeatable measurements in microgravity. We expect to increase our short-term sensitivity by two orders of magnitude, and consequently reach a long-term measurement of the Eötvös parameter at the level of 10 ^{-11}.To benefit from the free fall of the experiment completely, it is necessary to produce atoms clouds with a reduced velocity dispersion. To reach this goal, we put ^{87}Rb atoms in an optical dipole trap supplied by a compact fiber laser compliant with onboard applications and decrease the optical power on a very controlled way to obtain evaporative cooling. Preliminary results of ultra-fast evaporative cooling (less than a few seconds) onboard the ZERO-G plane allowed us to reach a regime of temperature compliant with an interrogation time of the order of one second. This method and technology will be tested on the ZERO-G simulator as well.

•Jul 14, 2018•0 citations

Atom interferometry at arbitrary orientations and rotation rates

Quentin d’Armagnac de Castanet, Cyrille Des Cognets, Romain Arguel +6 more

The exquisite precision of atom interferometers has sparked the interest of a large community for uses ranging from fundamental physics to geodesy and inertial navigation. However, their implementation for onboard applications is still limited, not least because rotation and acceleration are intertwined in a single phase shift, which makes the extraction of a useful signal more challenging. Moreover, the spatial separation of the wave packets due to rotations leads to a loss of signal. We present an atom interferometer operating over a large range of random angles, rotation rates and accelerations. A model of the expected phase shift allows us to untangle the rotation and acceleration signals. We also implement a real-time compensation system using fiber-optic gyroscopes and a rotating reference mirror to maintain the full contrast of the interferometer. We demonstrate a single-shot sensitivity to acceleration of 24 μg for rotation rates reaching 14° s−1. Cold atoms inertial sensors offer great precision and sensitivity, yet their use in mobile applications has been hindered by the effects of rotations on their measurements. Here, authors demonstrate an atom interferometer operating over a wide range of orientations and rotation rates, thanks to hybridisation with accelerometers and gyroscopes.

arXiv:2402.18988•Nature Communications•Jul 30, 2024•32 citations
Cold-atom inertial sensors target several applications in navigation, geoscience and tests of fundamental physics. Reaching high sampling rates and high inertial sensitivities, obtained with long interrogation times, represents a challenge for these applications. We report on the interleaved operation of a cold-atom gyroscope, where 3 atomic clouds are interrogated simultaneously in an atom interferometer featuring a 3.75 Hz sampling rate and an interrogation time of 801 ms. Interleaving improves the inertial sensitivity by efficiently averaging vibration noise, and allows us to perform dynamic rotation measurements in a so-far unexplored range. We demonstrate a stability of 3×10−103\times 10^{-10}3×10−10 rad.s−1^{-1}−1, which competes with the best stability levels obtained with fiber-optics gyroscopes. Our work validates interleaving as a key concept for future atom-interferometry sensors probing time-varying signals, as in on-board navigation and gravity-gradiometry, searches for dark matter, or gravitational wave detection.
We report on interleaved operation of a cold-atom inertial sensor, where three atomic clouds are simultaneously probed in an atom interferometer featuring 4 Hz sampling rate and interrogation time of 801 ms. Interleaving improves the inertial sensitivity by efficiently averaging vibration noise and allows us to perform dynamic rotation measurements in a so far unexplored range. We demonstrate sensitivity of 30 nrad.s-1·Hz-1/2and reach the long-term stability of 3·10-10rads-1, which competes with the best stability levels obtained with fiber-optic gyroscopes. Our work validated interleaving as a key concept for future atom-interferometry sensors probing time-varying signals, as in on-board navigation and gravity gradiometry, searches for dark matter, or gravitational wave detection.
Cold-atom inertial sensors target several applications in navigation,geoscience and tests of fundamental physics. Reaching high samplingrates and high inertial sensitivities, obtained with long interrogationtimes, represents a challenge for these applications. We report on theinterleaved operation of a cold-atom gyroscope, where 3 atomic cloudsare interrogated simultaneously in an atom interferometer featuring a3.75 Hz sampling rate and an interrogation time of 801 ms. Interleavingimproves the inertial sensitivity to 3×10-9 rad.s-1.Hz-1/2 byefficiently averaging vibration noise, and allows us to perform dynamicrotation measurements in a so-far unexplored range. We demonstrate astability of 3×10-10 rad.s-1 after 30 000 s, which competes with thebest stability levels obtained with fiber-optics gyroscopes. Our workvalidates interleaving as a key concept for future atom-interferometrysensors probing time-varying signals, as in on-board navigation andgravity-gradiometry, searches for dark matter, or gravitational wavedetection.
We present a matter-wave gyroscope with 11 cm2Sagnac area operating without dead times and at a sampling frequency of 3.75 Hz. This is achieved by interleaving the atom laser-cooling step and the interrogation of the atoms. We demonstrate a record short term sensitivity of 30 nrad.s-1. Hz-1/2, which allows us to characterize and stabilize systematic effects below 3×10-10rad.s-1after 15 000 seconds of integration time. Such level of stability competes with best long term stabilities obtained with fiber-optics gyroscopes, and paves the way for applications of cold-atom sensors in inertial navigation or geoscience.
Quantum technology based on cold-atom interferometers is showing great promise for fields such as inertial sensing and fundamental physics. However, the best precision achievable on Earth is limited by the free-fall time of the atoms, and their full potential can only be realized in Space where interrogation times of many seconds will lead to unprecedented sensitivity. Various mission scenarios are presently being pursued, which plan to implement matter-waves inertial sensors to detect gravitational waves, to measure the Earth gravity field or to test fundamental physics such as the Equivalence Principle.We developed a cold atom sensor experiment adapted to microgravity platforms, especially the ZERO-G plane. To achieve a test of the Universality of Free Fall, we realize the first onboard operation of simultaneous ^{87}Rb - ^{39}K interferometers in the weightlessness environment produced during parabolic flight. The large vibration levels (10 ^{-2} g/Hz ^{1/2}), acceleration range and rotation rates (5 deg/s) during flight present significant technical challenges for atom interferometers. By hybridizing each atomic sensor with a common mechanical accelerometer, we achieve a sensitivity of 3.4 10 ^{-5} g per shot-more than 1600 times below the ambient vibration level onboard the aircraft. We demonstrate the capability of our dual-quantum sensor by measuring the Eötvös parameter with systematic-limited uncertainties of 3.0 10 ^{-4} during micro-gravity. This constitutes the first quantum test of the equivalence principle in a free falling vehicle. Our results can be extended to the trajectory of a satellite for future Space missions. We also achieved a simultaneous ^{87}Rb- ^{39}K interferometer on ground with a long term stability on the differential acceleration measurement around 5 10 ^{-8}g, limited by the fall of the atom clouds. To increase the interrogation time and the sensitivity, a ZERO-G simulator has been installed in our laboratory and allows our experiment to be in free fall during 500 ms every 12 seconds, to achieve highly repeatable measurements in microgravity. We expect to increase our short-term sensitivity by two orders of magnitude, and consequently reach a long-term measurement of the Eötvös parameter at the level of 10 ^{-11}.To benefit from the free fall of the experiment completely, it is necessary to produce atoms clouds with a reduced velocity dispersion. To reach this goal, we put ^{87}Rb atoms in an optical dipole trap supplied by a compact fiber laser compliant with onboard applications and decrease the optical power on a very controlled way to obtain evaporative cooling. Preliminary results of ultra-fast evaporative cooling (less than a few seconds) onboard the ZERO-G plane allowed us to reach a regime of temperature compliant with an interrogation time of the order of one second. This method and technology will be tested on the ZERO-G simulator as well.
The exquisite precision of atom interferometers has sparked the interest of a large community for uses ranging from fundamental physics to geodesy and inertial navigation. However, their implementation for onboard applications is still limited, not least because rotation and acceleration are intertwined in a single phase shift, which makes the extraction of a useful signal more challenging. Moreover, the spatial separation of the wave packets due to rotations leads to a loss of signal. We present an atom interferometer operating over a large range of random angles, rotation rates and accelerations. A model of the expected phase shift allows us to untangle the rotation and acceleration signals. We also implement a real-time compensation system using fiber-optic gyroscopes and a rotating reference mirror to maintain the full contrast of the interferometer. We demonstrate a single-shot sensitivity to acceleration of 24 μg for rotation rates reaching 14° s−1. Cold atoms inertial sensors offer great precision and sensitivity, yet their use in mobile applications has been hindered by the effects of rotations on their measurements. Here, authors demonstrate an atom interferometer operating over a wide range of orientations and rotation rates, thanks to hybridisation with accelerometers and gyroscopes.