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IEEE International Symposium on Inertial Sensors and Systems (INERTIAL)

Real-Time Scale-factor Calibration for Cold-Atom Gyroscope based on Point-Source Interferometry

Nikolaos Dedes, David Harvey, Tim Freegarde

Published Mar 25, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Point-source interferometry (PSI) is a promising technique that enables the realization of compact and multi-axis cold-atom inertial sensors. However, scale-factor errors in the rotational signal, due to the shape and size of the initial atomic distribution, constitute a major drawback. In this paper, we present a method for calibrating the rotational scale-factor. This method relies on the application of a known bias rotation and a compensation scheme that decouples the PSI sensor from the vehicle’s rotational dynamics. We employ a Kalman filter protocol to track the scale-factor error, paving the way for real-time implementation of the calibration method. Through simulations, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the method and the stabilization of the PSI sensor scale-factor.

DOI
10.1109/inertial60399.2024.10502035

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Point-source interferometry (PSI) is a promising technique that enables the realization of compact and multi-axis cold-atom inertial sensors. However, scale-factor errors in the rotational signal, due to the shape and size of the initial atomic distribution, constitute a major drawback. In this paper, we present a method for calibrating the rotational scale-factor. This method relies on the application of a known bias rotation and a compensation scheme that decouples the PSI sensor from the vehicle’s rotational dynamics. We employ a Kalman filter protocol to track the scale-factor error, paving the way for real-time implementation of the calibration method. Through simulations, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the method and the stabilization of the PSI sensor scale-factor.
Light pulse atom interferometry can be used to realize high-performance sensors of accelerations and rotations. In order to broaden the range of applications of these sensors, it is desirable to reduce their size and complexity. Point source interferometry (PSI) is a promising technique for accomplishing both of these goals. With PSI, rotations are measured by detecting the orientation and frequency of spatial fringe patterns in the atomic state. These spatial fringes are primarily due to a correlation between an atom's initial velocity and its final position, which is created by the expansion of a cold atom cloud. However, the fringe patterns are also influenced by the structure of the initial atomic distribution. We summarize several methods that can be used to investigate the relationship between the spatial fringe pattern and the initial atomic distribution. This relationship will need to be understood in detail to realize an accurate gyroscope based on PSI.
Using the technique of point source atom interferometry, we characterize the sensitivity of a multi-axis gyroscope based on free-space Raman interrogation of a single source of cold atoms in a glass vacuum cell. The instrument simultaneously measures the acceleration in the direction of the Raman laser beams and the component of the rotation vector in the plane perpendicular to that direction. We characterize the sensitivities for the magnitude and direction of the rotation vector measurement, which are 0.033 ∘/s^{\circ}/\mathrm{s}∘/s and 0.27 ∘^{\circ}∘ with one second averaging time, respectively. The sensitivity could be improved by increasing the Raman interrogation time, allowing the cold-atom cloud to expand further, correcting the fluctuations in the initial cloud shape, and reducing sources of technical noise. The unique ability of the PSI technique to measure the rotation vector in a plane may permit applications of atom interferometry such as tracking the precession of a rotation vector and gyrocompassing.
Point source atom interferometry, employing optical Raman pulses and a cold atom source, enables measurements of rotation and acceleration in a compact experimental package. This system is uniquely sensitive to rotations in the plane perpendicular to the Raman beamline. Here we discuss our experiment’s sensitivity, stability, systematic errors, and other performance-limiting factors both fundamentaland technical. Our current measurements for the sensitivity to the magnitude and direction of the rotation vector are 0.6 mrad/s and 5 mrad, respectively.
This work reviews the topic of rotation sensing with compact cold atom interferometers. A representative set of compact free-falling cold atom gyroscopes is considered because, in different respects, they establish a rotation-measurement reference for cold guided-atom technologies. This review first discusses enabling technologies relevant to a set of key functional building blocks of an atom chip-based compact inertial sensor with cold guided atoms. These functionalities concern the accurate and reproducible positioning of atoms to initiate a measurement cycle, the coherent momentum transfer to the atom wave packets, the suppression of propagation-induced decoherence due to potential roughness, on-chip detection, and vacuum dynamics because of its impact on sensor stability, which is due to the measurement dead time. Based on the existing enabling technologies, the design of an atom chip gyroscope with guided atoms is formalized using a design case that treats design elements such as guiding, fabrication, scale factor, rotation-rate sensitivity, spectral response, important noise sources, and sensor stability.
Accurate and stable measurement of inertial quantities is essential in geophysics, geodesy, fundamental physics, and inertial navigation. Here, we present an architecture for a compact cold-atom accelerometer-gyroscope based on a magnetically launched atom interferometer. Characterizing the launching technique, we demonstrate 700–parts per million gyroscope scale factor stability over 1 day, while acceleration and rotation rate bias stabilities of 7 × 10 −7 meters per second squared and 4 × 10 −7 radians per second are reached after 2 days of integration of the cold-atom sensor. Hybridizing it with a classical accelerometer and gyroscope, we correct their drift and bias to achieve respective 100-fold and 3-fold increase on the stability of the hybridized sensor compared to the classical ones. Compared to a state-of-the-art atomic gyroscope, the simplicity and scalability of our launching technique make this architecture easily extendable to a compact full six-axis inertial measurement unit, providing a pathway toward autonomous positioning and orientation using cold-atom sensors.