Government of the United States of America, As Represented by the Secretary of Commerce

University of California

Other

John Kitching

Svenja Knappe

Alexander Pines

Dmitry Budker

Micah Ledbetter

Leo W Hollberg

Elizabeth Ann Donley

Andrei M Shkel

Shoujun Xu

Vladimir Aksyuk

Erik Jesper Eklund

Christopher Lee Holloway

Matthew Thomas Simons

Igor Mykhaylovych Savukov

David E Wemmer

Alexandra Brae Artusio-Glimpse

David J Michalak

Eleanor Hodby

Robert Wynands

Charles W Crawford

Omar Daniel Lopez

Azure Lynn Hansen

Yun-Jhih Chen

Jan Preusser

Vladislav Gerginov

Vishal K Shah

An inertial point-source matter-wave atom interferometer gyroscope includes an analyzer that receives fringe images of gyroscope atoms and includes: a first fringe image that includes a first fringe phase, a second fringe image that includes a second fringe phase; and a third fringe image that includes a third fringe phase, wherein the first fringe phase, the second fringe phase, and the third fringe phase are different; a phase mapper of the analyzer that produces a interferometric phase map for the gyroscope atoms from the fringe images of the gyroscope atoms; and a fitter of the analyzer in communication with the phase mapper and that receives the interferometric phase map from the analyzer and determines inertial parameters of the gyroscope atoms from the interferometric phase map, the inertial parameters including an acceleration and a rotation rate of the inertial point-source matter-wave atom interferometer gyroscope relative to the gyroscope atoms.

Inertial point-source matter-wave atom interferometer gyroscope and extracting inertial parameters

An atomic vapor cell for performing RF measurements includes: a first optical window of transparent nonconducting material free of electrically conductive materials; an intermediate frame of transparent nonconducting material free of electrically conductive materials; a second optical window disposed on the intermediate frame and including transparent nonconducting material free of electrically conductive materials to minimize distortion of radiofrequency fields by the windows and frame; and a cell aperture, wherein the atomic vapor cell is hermetically sealed by bonding between the first optical window and the second optical window to the intermediate frame.

Atomic vapor cell and making an atomic vapor cell

Making alkali metal vapor cells includes: providing a preform wafer that includes cell cavities in a cavity layer; providing a sealing wafer having a cover layer and transmission apertures; disposing a deposition assembly on the sealing wafer; disposing an alkali metal precursor in the deposition assembly; disposing the sealing wafer on the preform wafer; aligning the transmission apertures with the cell cavities; subjecting the alkali metal precursor to a reaction stimulus; producing alkali metal vapor in the deposition assembly; communicating the alkali metal vapor to the cell cavities; receiving, in the cell cavities, the alkali metal vapor from the transmission apertures; producing an alkali metal condensate in the cell cavity; moving the sealing wafer such that the cover layer encapsulates the alkali metal condensate in the cell cavities; and bonding the sealing wafer to the preform wafer to make individually sealed alkali metal vapor cells in the preform wafer.

Process for making alkali metal vapor cells

An embodiment of a method of detecting a J-coupling includes providing a polarized analyte adjacent to a vapor cell of an atomic magnetometer; and measuring one or more J-coupling parameters using the atomic magnetometer. According to an embodiment, measuring the one or more J-coupling parameters includes detecting a magnetic field created by the polarized analyte as the magnetic field evolves under a J-coupling interaction.

Detection of J-coupling using atomic magnetometer

A magnetometer and method of use is presently disclosed. The magnetometer has at least one sensor void of extraneous metallic components, electrical contacts and electrically conducting pathways. The sensor contains an active material vapor, such as an alkali vapor, that alters at least one measurable parameter of light passing therethrough, when in a magnetic field. The sensor may have an absorptive material configured to absorb laser light and thereby activate or heat the active material vapor.

Atomic magnetometer and method of sensing magnetic fields

An integral microfluidic device includes an alkali vapor cell and microfluidic channel, which can be used to detect magnetism for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Small magnetic fields in the vicinity of the vapor cell can be measured by optically polarizing and probing the spin precession in the small magnetic field. This can then be used to detect the magnetic field of in encoded analyte in the adjacent microfluidic channel. The magnetism in the microfluidic channel can be modulated by applying an appropriate series of radio or audio frequency pulses upstream from the microfluidic chip (the remote detection modality) to yield a sensitive means of detecting NMR and MRI.

Integrated microchip incorporating atomic magnetometer and microfluidic channel for NMR and MRI

An atomic magnetometer that simultaneously achieves high sensitivity, simple fabrication and small size. This design is based on a diverging (or converging) beam of light that passes through an alkali atom vapor cell and that contains a distribution of beam propagation vectors. The existence of more than one propagation direction permits longitudinal optical pumping of atomic system and simultaneous detection of the transverse atomic polarization. The design could be implemented with a micro machined alkali vapor cell and light from a single semiconductor laser. A small modification to the cell contents and excitation geometry allows for use as a gyroscope.

Compact atomic magnetometer and gyroscope based on a diverging laser beam

A method is provided for optimizing the performance of laser-pumped atomic frequency references with respect to the laser detuning and other operating parameters. This method is based on the new understanding that the frequency references short-term instability is minimized when (a) the laser frequency is tuned nominally a few tens of MHz away from the center of the atomic absorption line, and (b) the external oscillator lock modulation frequency is set either far below or far above the inverse of the optical pumping time of the atoms.

Method of minimizing the short-term frequency instability of laser-pumped atomic clocks

A microwave frequency standard is provided which allows for miniaturization down to length scales of order one micron, comprising a modulated light field originating from a laser that illuminates a collection of quantum absorbers contained in a micro-machined cell. The frequency standard of the present invention can be based on all-optical excitation techniques such as coherent population trapping (CPT) and stimulated Raman scattering or on conventional microwave-excited designs. In a CPT-based embodiment, a photodetector detects a change in transmitted power through the cell and that is used to stabilize an external oscillator to correspond to the absorber's transition frequency by locking the laser modulation frequency to the transition frequency. In a stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) embodiment, a high-speed photodetector detects a laser field transmitted through the cell beating with a second field originating in the cell. Both the locked laser modulation frequency and the beat frequency are very stable as they are referenced directly to the atomic transition.

Miniature frequency standard based on all-optical excitation and a micro-machined containment vessel

Growing community of inventors

Boulder, CO, United States of America

John Kitching