Precise control of atomic systems has led to an array of emerging 'quantum' sensor concepts ranging from Rydberg-atom RF-electric probes to cold-atom interferometer gravimeters. Looking forward, the potential impact of these technologies hinges on their capability to be adapted from laboratory-scale experiments to compact and low-power field-deployable instruments. However, existing setups typically require a bulky and power-hungry laser and optics system (LOS) to prepare, control, and interrogate the relevant atomic system using a variety of frequency-referenced and rapidly reconfigurable laser beams. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of using semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) to replace high-power pump lasers and acousto-optic modulators within a simple atom cooling apparatus, looking forward to the ultimate goal of a space-deployable atom interferometer. We find that existing off-the-shelf SOA components operating at relevant wavelengths for Cs and Rb atom cooling (852 and 780 nm, respectively) are able to permit an attractive combination of rapid (sub-microsecond), high extinction ratio (>60-65 dB) switching while acting as power boosters prior to the atom physics package. These attributes enable a radically different, power-efficient approach to LOS design, reducing or eliminating the need for Watt-class laser amplifiers that are unsuitable for flight deployment. Building on these results, we construct a simple and compact all-semiconductor laser/amplifier LOS for atom cooling that is integrated with custom path-to-flight drive electronics. Up to 125 mW of total optical power is delivered to six fiber-coupled channels for magneto-optical-trap-based cooling of a cloud of neutral Cs atoms. The entire LOS, including reference and cooling laser subsystems and control electronics, occupies a volume of 20×20×15 cm and totals DC power consumption of around 13.5 W, and is designed in a modular format so that additional hardware for synthesizing atom interferometry beams may be added through future development efforts. These results indicate the utility of all-semiconductor laser systems for future low-power flyable atom-based sensor instruments.
Precise control of atomic systems has led to an array of emerging 'quantum' sensor concepts ranging from Rydberg-atom RF-electric probes to cold-atom interferometer gravimeters. Looking forward, the potential impact of these technologies hinges on their capability to be adapted from laboratory-scale experiments to compact and low-power field-deployable instruments. However, existing setups typically require a bulky and power-hungry laser and optics system (LOS) to prepare, control, and interrogate the relevant atomic system using a variety of frequency-referenced and rapidly reconfigurable laser beams. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of using semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) to replace high-power pump lasers and acousto-optic modulators within a simple atom cooling apparatus, looking forward to the ultimate goal of a space-deployable atom interferometer. We find that existing off-the-shelf SOA components operating at relevant wavelengths for Cs and Rb atom cooling (852 and 780 nm, respectively) are able to permit an attractive combination of rapid (sub-microsecond), high extinction ratio (>60-65 dB) switching while acting as power boosters prior to the atom physics package. These attributes enable a radically different, power-efficient approach to LOS design, reducing or eliminating the need for Watt-class laser amplifiers that are unsuitable for flight deployment. Building on these results, we construct a simple and compact all-semiconductor laser/amplifier LOS for atom cooling that is integrated with custom path-to-flight drive electronics. Up to 125 mW of total optical power is delivered to six fiber-coupled channels for magneto-optical-trap-based cooling of a cloud of neutral Cs atoms. The entire LOS, including reference and cooling laser subsystems and control electronics, occupies a volume of 20×20×15 cm and totals DC power consumption of around 13.5 W, and is designed in a modular format so that additional hardware for synthesizing atom interferometry beams may be added through future development efforts. These results indicate the utility of all-semiconductor laser systems for future low-power flyable atom-based sensor instruments.
Abstract Programmability and precise control of laser frequency are essential for quantum experiments and applications such as atomic clocks, quantum computers, and cold-atom sensors. Current systems use bulky, power-hungry modulators and frequency shifters which are difficult to integrate and limit portability and scalability. We report an electrically controllable, agile optical frequency source based on a semiconductor laser stabilized to a photonic integrated resonator cavity with a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) actuator. We demonstrate this approach with precision programmable frequency control of a 780-nm laser that can periodically reference to rubidium-87 ( 87 Rb) spectroscopy followed by fast, programmable, arbitrary frequency tuning sequences for quantum control. We use this approach to demonstrate sub-Doppler cooling of 87 Rb without any external modulators, achieving atom-cloud temperatures as low as 16 μ K. The device achieves a tuning strength up to 1 GHz/V with 11 MHz modulation bandwidth while consuming only 10 nW of electrical power. This work establishes a route toward compact, low-power, and chip-scale laser systems for next-generation quantum and atomic sensing technologies.
Programmability and precise control of laser frequency are essential for quantum experiments and applications such as atomic clocks, quantum computers, and cold-atom sensors. Current systems use bulky, power-hungry modulators and frequency shifters which are difficult to integrate and limit portability and scalability. We report an electrically controllable, agile optical frequency source based on a semiconductor laser stabilized to a photonic-integrated, lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-actuated resonator cavity. We demonstrate this approach with precision programmable frequency control of a 780-nm laser that can periodically reference to rubidium spectroscopy followed by fast, programmable, arbitrary frequency tuning sequences for quantum control. We use this approach to demonstrate sub-Doppler cooling of rubidium-87 without any external modulators, achieving atom-cloud temperatures as low as 16 μK. The device achieves a tuning strength up to 1 GHz/V with 11 MHz modulation bandwidth while consuming only 10 nW of electrical power. This work establishes a route toward compact, low-power, and chip-scale laser systems for next-generation quantum and atomic sensing technologies.
We present a novel design of a compact, stable, and easy-adjustable semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) system.This SOA system is capable of providing up to 560-mW laser power at the wavelength of 852 nm.For the continuous-wave (CW) seeding laser, the amplification gain can reach 18 dB.We add amplitude modulation onto the CW laser and measure the modulation amplification between seeding and output laser.The amplification gain remains constant within the frequency range from 10 Hz to 1 MHz.The whole system could work in ultra-stable condition: for CW seeding laser, the fluctuation of output power is less than 0.33% in several hours.
Abstract The extreme miniaturization of a cold-atom interferometer accelerometer requires the development of novel technologies and architectures for the interferometer subsystems. We describe several component technologies and a laser system architecture to enable a path to such miniaturization. We developed a custom, compact titanium vacuum package containing a microfabricated grating chip for a tetrahedral grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT) using a single cooling beam. The vacuum package is integrated into the optomechanical design of a compact cold-atom sensor head with fixed optical components. In addition, a multichannel laser system driven by a single seed laser has been implemented with time-multiplexed frequency shifting using single sideband modulators, reducing the number of optical channels connected to the sensor head. This laser system architecture is compatible with a highly miniaturized photonic integrated circuit approach, and by demonstrating atom-interferometer operation with this laser system, we show feasibility for the integrated photonic approach. In the compact sensor head, sub-Doppler cooling in the GMOT produces 15 μK temperatures, which can operate at a 20 Hz data rate for the atom interferometer sequence. After validating atomic coherence with Ramsey interferometry, we demonstrate a light-pulse atom interferometer in a gravimeter configuration without vibration isolation for 10 Hz measurement cycle rate and T = 0 - 4.5 ms interrogation time, resulting in Δg/g = 2.0e-6. All these efforts demonstrate progress towards deployable cold-atom inertial sensors under large amplitude motional dynamics.
The extreme miniaturization of a cold-atom interferometer accelerometer requires the development of novel technologies and architectures for the interferometer subsystems. Here we describe several component technologies and a laser system architecture to enable a path to such miniaturization. We developed a custom, compact titanium vacuum package containing a microfabricated grating chip for a tetrahedral grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT) using a single cooling beam. In addition, we designed a multi-channel photonic-integrated-circuit-compatible laser system implemented with a single seed laser and single sideband modulators in a time-multiplexed manner, reducing the number of optical channels connected to the sensor head. In a compact sensor head containing the vacuum package, sub-Doppler cooling in the GMOT produces 15 uK temperatures, and the GMOT can operate at a 20 Hz data rate. We validated the atomic coherence with Ramsey interferometry using microwave spectroscopy, then demonstrated a light-pulse atom interferometer in a gravimeter configuration for a 10 Hz measurement data rate and T = 0 - 4.5 ms interrogation time, resulting in Δ g / g = 2.0e-6. This work represents a significant step towards deployable cold-atom inertial sensors under large amplitude motional dynamics.
The creation of cold atoms underpins quantum sensing and precision metrology, computing, timekeeping, and fundamental science experiments. Miniaturizing the lasers and optical infrastructure, which occupy over 80% of the volume of these experiments, through photonic integration could improve robustness, reliability, and manufacturability while reducing cost and enabling portable space-based precision measurements and quantum tools for non-experts. Yet, there has been limited progress towards integration of the laser and optical infrastructure required to generate cold atoms onto a single chip. We demonstrate a photonic engine that generates, controls, and delivers precision light to create cold atoms in a rubidium 3-dimensional magneto-optical trap (3D-MOT). We integrate on a single chip two frequency-agile self-injection-locked lasers, laser frequency and intensity control, passive beam combining and splitting, signal monitoring, and high-efficiency beam delivery to a rubidium vapor cell. The integrated engine is shown to support multiple functions required for generating cold atoms including stable generation of low-noise cooling and repump light, frequency control for atom spectroscopy and stabilization, real-time laser monitoring, routing for laser offset locking, optical power modulation, and large-area three-beam delivery of 3 mW to the physics package. Fully electrically controlled, the engine enables sustained 3D-MOT operation, trapping more than 1 million atoms at an average temperature of 350 uK and supporting atom-number and temperature measurements. These results demonstrate the first single-chip integration of light generation, control, and delivery for cold-atom generation, offering a path toward smaller, more robust, and manufacturable cold-atom systems for applications including cold-atom clocks and sensors.