Enhancing an Atom Interferometer Area using Double-diffraction

Thomas Lévèque (1) , Alexandre Gauguet (1) , Franck Michaud (1) , Franck Pereira dos Santos (1) , Arnaud Landragin (1)

1 SYRTE - Systèmes de Référence Temps Espace

In this paper we demonstrate a new scheme for Raman transitions which realize a symmetric momentum-space splitting of $4 \hbar k$, deflecting the atomic wave-packets into the same internal state. Combining the advantages of Raman and Bragg diffraction, we achieve a three pulse state labelled interferometer, intrinsically insensitive to the main systematics. This splitting scheme can be extended to $4N \hbar k$ momentum transfer by a multipulse sequence and is implemented on a $8 \hbar k$ interferometer. Measuring inertial phase shifts, we demonstrate an area enhancement of a factor of 3.46 with respect to the traditionally used geometry.

Keywords: Atom interferometry; Raman transition; inertial sensor

Domains: Atomic Physics [physics.atom-ph]

Thomas Lévèque, Alexandre Gauguet, Franck Michaud, Franck Pereira dos Santos, Arnaud Landragin. Enhancing an Atom Interferometer Area using Double-diffraction. 2009. ⟨hal-00377397v1⟩