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

University System of Maryland

Stephen Paul Eckel

Jay Howard Hendricks

Kevin O Douglass

Patrick F Egan

Jack A Stone, Jr

Zeeshan Ahmed

James Fedchak

Nikolai Nikolaevich Klimov

Thomas Purdy

Kevin O'Connell Douglass

Jacob Edmond Ricker

Daniel Schaeder Barker

Julia Kay Scherschligt

Robinjeet Singh

Eric Burton Norrgard

An optomechanical pressure-measurement system measures pressure in the range of 10Pa-10Pa by measuring various properties of a vibrational mode of an ultra-thin membrane member. With independent measurements of the thickness and density of the membrane, in addition to the measured vibration mode properties, the system can operate as a primary pressure sensor. The membrane member is mounted on a vibration-isolated mount and is excited by a drive force. A laser beam impinges on the excited membrane, and an optical phase detector detects the amplitude of the oscillations, as well as parameters of the laser beam affected by the membrane vibration. In one embodiment, a mechanical damping is computed based on the amplitude or frequency shift (depending on the pressure range), and the pressure based on the ring-down time of the membrane vibration mode.

Optomechanical pressure measurement system and method using the vibrational modes of a membrane

A uniaxial counter-propagating monolaser atom trap cools and traps atoms with a single a laser beam and includes: an atom slower that slows atoms to form slowed atoms; an optical diffractor including: a first diffraction grating that receives primary light and produces first reflected light; a second diffraction grating that receives primary light and produces second reflected light; and a third diffraction grating that receives the primary light and produces third reflected light; and a trapping region that forms trap light from the reflected lights and receives slowed atoms to produce trapped atoms from the slowed atoms that interact with the trap light.

Uniaxial counter-propagating monolaser atom trap

An optical refraction barometer measures pressure based on refractivity changes and includes: an optical light source; an optical frequency controller; a first optical phase controller; a first polarization controller; an electronic reference arm in optical communication with the first polarization controller; a second optical phase controller in optical communication with the optical frequency controller; a second polarization controller in optical communication with the second optical phase controller; an electronic sample arm in optical communication with the second polarization controller and in electrical communication with the second optical phase controller; a second sideband frequency generator; a mixer in electrical communication with the detector and the second sideband frequency generator; and a first sideband frequency generator in electrical communication with the mixer; and a dual fixed length optical cavity refractometer.

Optical refraction barometer

A deformometer includes: a cavity body; entry and exit optical cavity optics, such that the optical cavity produces filtered combined light from combined light; a first laser that provides first light; a second laser that provides second light; an optical combiner that: receives the first light; receives the second light; combines the first light and the second light; produces combined light from the first light and the second light; and communicates the combined light to the entry optical cavity optic; a beam splitter that: receives the filtered combined light; splits the filtered combined light; a first light detector in optical communication with the beam splitter and that: receives the first filtered light from the beam splitter; and produces a first cavity signal from the first filtered light; and a second light detector that: receives the second filtered light; and produces a second cavity signal from the second filtered light.

Deformometer for determining deformation of an optical cavity optic

Growing community of inventors

Gaithersburg, MD, United States of America

Stephen Paul Eckel