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A portable laser system for high-precision atom interferometry experiments

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Abstract

We present a modular rack-mounted laser system for the cooling and manipulation of neutral rubidium atoms which has been developed for a portable gravimeter based on atom interferometry that will be capable of performing high-precision gravity measurements directly at sites of geophysical interest. This laser system is constructed in a compact and mobile design so that it can be transported to different locations, yet it still offers improvements over many conventional laboratory-based laser systems. Our system is contained in a standard 19″ rack and emits light at five different frequencies simultaneously on up to 12 fibre ports at a total output power of 800 mW. These frequencies can be changed and switched between ports in less than a microsecond. The setup includes two phase-locked diode lasers with a phase noise spectral density of less than 1 μrad/Hz1/2 in the frequency range in which our gravimeter is most sensitive to noise. We characterise this laser system and evaluate the performance limits it imposes on an interferometer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, 12489, Berlin, Germany

    M. Schmidt & A. Peters

  2. Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40127, Bologna, Italy

    M. Prevedelli

  3. Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia and LENS, Università di Firenze-INFN, Via Sansone 1 Polo Scientifico, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino (Firenze), Italy

    A. Giorgini & G. M. Tino

Authors
  1. M. Schmidt
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  2. M. Prevedelli
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  3. A. Giorgini
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  4. G. M. Tino
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  5. A. Peters
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Correspondence to M. Schmidt.

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Schmidt, M., Prevedelli, M., Giorgini, A. et al. A portable laser system for high-precision atom interferometry experiments. Appl. Phys. B 102, 11–18 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-010-4263-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-010-4263-8

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