New approach of fabrication and dispensing of micromachined cesium vapor cell

L. Nieradko (1) , C. Gorecki (1) , A. Douahi (1) , V. Giordano (1) , J.C. Beugnot (1) , J. Dziuban (2) , M. Moraja (3)

1 FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174)
2 Wroclaw University of Science and Technology
3 SAES Getters

We describe the fabrication of wafer-scale alkali vapor cells based on silicon micromachining and anodic bonding. The principle of the proposed micromachined alkali cell is based on an extremely compact sealed vacuum cavity of a few cubic millimeters containing caesium vapors, illuminated by a high-frequency modulated laser beam. The alkali cells are formed by sealing an etched silicon wafer between two glass wafers. The technique of cell filling involves the use of an alkali dispenser. The activation of cesium vapors is made by local heating of the dispenser below temperature range causing degradations of cesium vapor purity. Thus, the procedure avoids negative effects of cesium chemistry on the quality of cell surfaces and sealing procedure. To demonstrate the clock operation, cesium absorption as well as coherent population trapping resonance was measured in the cells. (C) 2008 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers

Domaines: Optique [physics.optics]

L. Nieradko, C. Gorecki, A. Douahi, V. Giordano, J.C. Beugnot, et al.. New approach of fabrication and dispensing of micromachined cesium vapor cell. JOURNAL OF MICRO-NANOLITHOGRAPHY MEMS AND MOEMS, 2008, 7 (3), pp.033013. ⟨10.1117/1.2964288⟩. ⟨hal-00362766⟩