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Optical and Quantum Sensing and Precision Metrology II

Progress toward a dual-beam 3D-cooled atom interferometer gyroscope

Adam T. Black, Jonathan M. Kwolek, Sunil Kumar Upadhyay

Published Mar 19, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Atom interferometers make use of the interference of matter waves for precise measurement of motion. Employing 3D-laser-cooled atoms provides improved fringe contrast, while measuring in a continuous beam architecture provides high-bandwidth measurement, error suppression of time-varying signals, and the elimination of measurement dead time. In this paper, we discuss the initial observation of interference signals in a dual-beam, 3D-cooled atomic beam interferometer architecture. Additionally, we perform initial characterization of the response of the atom interferometer signal to laser intensity and frequency noise.

DOI
10.1117/12.3053428

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Atom interferometers make use of the interference of matter waves for precise measurement of motion. Employing 3D-laser-cooled atoms provides improved fringe contrast, while measuring in a continuous beam architecture provides high-bandwidth measurement, error suppression of time-varying signals, and the elimination of measurement dead time. In this paper, we discuss the initial observation of interference signals in a dual-beam, 3D-cooled atomic beam interferometer architecture. Additionally, we perform initial characterization of the response of the atom interferometer signal to laser intensity and frequency noise.
We study decoherence in continuously cooled atom interferometers by performing Raman-Ramsey fringe measurements in a continuous beam of 3D-sub-Doppler-cooled rubidium atoms. The atom beam is produced by a two-stage cold atom source that is designed to mitigate the decoherence of atomic interference caused by cooling induced fluorescence. The atom beam source produces a collimated beam of over 109 atoms/s that is cooled by polarization gradient cooling to temperatures as low as 14 µK. We infer the potential performance of this atom beam source in a cold-atom gyroscope and use numerical models of motion in 6 degrees of freedom to study the expected performance on dynamic platforms.
Multi-isotope operation of atom interferometers can enable new practical capabilities such as concurrent and co-located interferometers exhibiting multi-axis or multi-scale-factor measurement, in addition to fundamental studies such as equivalence principle tests. We describe the development of a dual-isotope interferometer based on a continuously laser-cooled atomic beam. In addition, we provide an update on our development of a dualbeam atomic gyroscope using continuous, counterpropagating, 3D-cooled rubidium beams for inertial sensing applications.
The use of atom interferometers in inertial systems holds the promise of improvement of several orders of magnitude in sensitivity over sensors using current technology such as micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) devices or ring laser gyroscopes (RLGs). This paper describes the construction and characterization of an atomic interferometry system for eventual use in a dual-atom-beam accelerometer/gyroscope sensor. In contrast with current state-of-the-art atomic sensors which use pulsed cold atom sources and pulsed laser beams, the investigated apparatus relies purely on continuous atomic and laser beams. These differences can result in a sensor with reduced complexity, a smaller physical footprint, and reduced power consumption. However, these differences also introduce challenges resulting from laser and atomic beam divergences and from velocity averaging due to both longitudinal and transverse velocity spreads. In this work, we characterize our rubidium-based atom beam system and show that Ramsey-style interference can still be observed. The implications for future research are also outlined and discussed.
Atom interferometers that operate in the spatial domain through continuous measurement of an atomic beam provide benefits in the elimination of sensor dead time and reduced sensitivity to certain noise sources. Further improving its operation, time-domain control of a spatial-domain interferometer can provide necessary methods of error suppression and dynamic range improvement. We model numerically and experimentally demonstrate methods of time-domain control in a 3D-cooled atomic beam interferometer. We demonstrate suppression of magnetic-field-induced phase noise through rapid reversal of the direction of inertial sensitivity at a rate faster than the inverse interrogation time of the interferometer.
We demonstrate an atom interferometer that uses a laser-cooled continuous beam of 87Rb atoms having velocities of 10–20 m/s. With spatially separated Raman beams to coherently manipulate the atomic wave packets, Mach–Zehnder interference fringes are observed at an interference distance of 2L = 19 mm. The apparatus operates within a small enclosed area of 0.07 mm2 at a bandwidth of 190 Hz with a deduced sensitivity of 7.8×10−5 rad/s/Hz for rotations. Using a low-velocity continuous atomic source in an atom interferometer enables high sampling rates and bandwidths without sacrificing sensitivity and compactness, which are important for applications in real dynamic environments.
In atomic sensors, continuous interrogation of laser-cooled atoms carries the benefits of improved sensitivity and high measurement bandwidth. However, cooling in proximity to coherent atomic state evolution can degrade performance in compact systems, due to decoherence. This study demonstrates an inertially sensitive matter-wave interferometer in a three-dimensionally-cooled atomic beam that mitigates decoherence while operating continuously. The technique could enable compact atom-interferometer sensors that measure continuously and with high sensitivity on dynamic platforms.