Compact grating magneto-optical trap sensor head for inertial navigation in dynamic environments
| DWPI Title: Compact grating magneto-optical trap sensor head, has Raman separator optics adapted to receive combined cross-linearly-polarized Raman beams, and anti-Helmholtz coils adapted to generate magnetic field gradient for magneto-optical trap |
| Abstract: A compact grating-mirror magneto-optical trap (GMOT) cold atom inertial sensor head is disclosed. To make the sensor head compatible with the high vibration levels encountered in dynamic environments, the number of optical ports in the vacuum chamber is minimized and various components, including fixed optical components and a reflective grating chip, are hard mounted within the vacuum chamber. The use of the reflective grating chip reduces the number of optical ports required for cooling beams from six to one. The number of optical ports is further reduced by time multiplexing multiple beams passing through a given optical port. |
| Use: Compact grating magneto-optical trap sensor head for use in atom interferometry. Uses include but are not limited to atomic clocks, gravimeters, gravity gradiometers, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers and electrometers. |
| Advantage: The head minimizes number of cooling beams required within a sensor head employed in a cold atom sensor platform, and ensures a compact and physically robust sensor head can withstand vibrations typically encountered in highly dynamic environments. |
| Novelty: The head has a vacuum chamber for supporting atomic cloud for atomic interferometry and formed with a mounting port and two optical ports. Cooling beam optics are adapted to receive a cooling beam and create a flat-top cooling beam by causing radial intensity of the cooling beam to be approximately uniform. The cooling beam optics are adapted to transmit the flat-top cooling beam through the optical ports. A reflective grating chip is adapted to receive the flat-top cooling beam and to diffract the received flat-top cooling beam into three diffracted cooling beams. Atom detection optics are adapted to receive atomic fluorescence from the atomic cloud. Raman separator optics are adapted to receive combined pair of cross-linearly-polarized Raman beams. Anti-Helmholtz coils are adapted to generate magnetic field gradient for a magneto-optical trap. |
| Filed: 10/11/2021 |
| Application Number: US17498216A |
| Tech ID: SD 15234.1 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
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