Cold atom interferometry

US10157692B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Alexander Gill · Medford, US
• Steven J. Byrnes · Watertown, US
• Jennifer T. Choy · Cambridge, US
• Christine Y. Wang · Boston, US
• Matthew A. Sinclair · Stoneham, US
• Adam Kelsey · Cambridge, US
• David M. S. Johnson · Wilmington, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 24, 2017
• Grant date: Dec 18, 2018
• Expiry date: Aug 24, 2037

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01C19/58
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Improvements to atom interferometers. An improved atom interferometer has a single polarization-preserving fiber, coupled for propagation of beams of two Raman frequencies, and a parallel displacement beamsplitter for separating the laser beams into respective free-space-propagating parallel beams traversing at least one ensemble of atoms. A reflector generates one or more beams counterpropagating through the ensemble of atoms. Other improvements include interposing a beam-splitting surface common to a plurality of parallel pairs of beams counterpropagating through the ensemble of atoms, generating interference fringes between reflections of the beams to generate a detector signal; and processing the detector signal to derive at least one of relative phase and relative alignment between respective pairs of the counterpropagating beams.