Cs Atom Interferometer Laser

Quantum sensing takes advantage of the quantum mechanical nature of matters (e.g., atoms and ions) to boost the sensitivity of various sensors critical in NASA and other government/commercial applications. A stable, high-power, narrow-linewidth laser source is an essential subsystem needed in various atom-based quantum sensing. In atom-based sensing, high-power laser beams can generally increase the number of atoms, enhancing a metrology system's signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Although the principle of operation for atom interferometry (AI) applies identically for any atomic species, certain atomic species could be better suited for specific applications. However, although cesium is one of the most commonly used species in cold atom experiments performed in laboratory environments, field-deployable light-pulse atom interferometry with cesium is not often available in low SWaP (size, weight, and power) packaging due to the lack of a compact laser subsystem supporting the atom interferometry operation. To address the need, Opto-Atomics Corp. (OAC) proposes to develop a Cs Atom Interferometry Laser (CSAIL) that can be adopted in NASA's space-borne atom-interferometers with cesium in inertial navigation and other applications. The proposed development addresses NASA's call (S13.05) for a laser subsystem enabling Raman-based light-pulse atom interferometer with Cs. In Phase I, OAC will design and assemble key system components of CSAIL, evaluate their performance, and perform feasibility demonstrations. We will also conduct a preliminary design of the fully-packaged CSAIL system for future development.

With the development of various enabling technologies, significant performance leaps can be achieved to meet NASA’s needs in inertial sensing, gravity sensing, timekeeping, magnetic field sensing, and RF/microwave sensing. CSAIL can be readily adopted in Cs-based atom interferometers for inertial navigation and planetary geodesy applications of NASA. CSAIL can also be modified to provide the D2 transition beam for various atom-based sensing platforms such as Rydberg atom-based RF/microwave sensors or magnetometers.

Atom-based sensing has many potential applications for the military and other governmental sectors. CSAIL will significantly expedite the field deployment of these quantum devices with Cs by providing a robust, versatile light source that can be used in various quantum metrology/communication applications. All atom-based sensing techniques using Cs can benefit from SWaP reduction offered by CSAIL.

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