FreezeRay (Compact laser cooled cold atom source)

FreezeRay（紧凑型激光冷却冷原子源）

基本信息

批准号：
EP/M508238/1
负责人：
Vincent Boyer
金额：
$ 4.57万
依托单位：
University of Birmingham
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2015
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2015 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FM508238%2F1
关键词：
FreezeRay Compact laser cooled cold

项目摘要

Following the Nobel Prize winning discovery that lasers can cool atoms to extremely low temperatures there has beenextensive research into potential applications. Laboratory experiments with cold atoms have realised a step change ofapproximately 1000 times improvement in both inertial navigation and in timing over conventional atomic clocks. TheseQuantum Technologies (QT) are emerging to form a new market that will revolutionise many aspects of our daily lives. Coldatom based QT devices are now forming the next generation of sensing equipment, including atomic clocks (satellite-freenavigation, finance and power synchronisation), gravimeters (military, underground and sub-surface detection) and securecommunications (banking and information exchange).Each QT device will require a source of cold atoms. With a conventional approach the sub-systems required for producingcold atom clouds typically occupy a large fraction of a laboratory. The creation and subsequent integration of these subsystemsalso represents a significant time commitment, with experiments often requiring several months to a year beforeachieving a sufficiently optimised cloud.The excessive size and complexity of conventional systems will certainly hinder QT devices from exploring their completemarket potential. Achieving this will require a drastic improvement in the mobility of such systems, requiring them tobecome smaller and more robust. This will facilitate QT devices becoming portable, allowing them to leave the laboratorysetting and to become technology rather than research apparatus. Furthermore, for QT devices to impact upon a diverserange of markets it is necessary to commercialise and support the creation of a supply chain, driving down costs andincreasing reliability.The aim of this project is to enable this through development of an "all-in-one" unit, the FreezeRay, which will be able tofunction as the core engine for a variety of cold atom experiments. This will be achieved through advancement of a novelall-fibre based laser system and the development of a small form factor vacuum system with limited pumping dependence.The resulting integrated package will then form the centre point for numerous follow on QT devices or experiments.To develop the FreezeRay engine we have formed a consortium of two industrial and one academic partners. TheUniversity of Birmingham, Cold atoms group possesses a strong background in miniaturisation of cold atom systems,through novel developments in vacuum and laser systems. UoB will apply their knowledge to the system design phase,ensuring the design specifications will provide a cold atom source suitable for integration into QT devices. Gooch &Housego will apply their world leading expertise in photonics to develop a fully fibre based laser system alongside thecontrol and stabilisation electronics. The laser system will employ frequency doubling of a telecom laser source. This allowsmuch of the system to be based upon telecom technology, reducing cost and improving reliability. e2v will use their strongbackground in the development of small, self-contained vacuum cells to create a novel and compact vacuum system whichthey will then integrate with the laser system. Following completion of the unit, UoB will characterise and evaluate thesystem.

继诺贝尔奖获得者发现激光可以将原子冷却到极低温度之后，人们对潜在应用进行了广泛的研究。实验室的冷原子实验已经实现了惯性导航和计时方面比传统原子钟提高了约 1000 倍的阶跃变化。这些量子技术（QT）正在兴起，形成一个新市场，将彻底改变我们日常生活的许多方面。基于 Coldatom 的 QT 设备现在正在形成下一代传感设备，包括原子钟（无卫星导航、金融和电力同步）、重力计（军事、地下和地下探测）和安全通信（银行和信息交换）。每个 QT设备将需要冷原子源。采用传统方法，产生冷原子云所需的子系统通常占据实验室的很大一部分。这些子系统的创建和随后的集成也需要大量的时间投入，实验通常需要几个月到一年的时间才能实现充分优化的云。传统系统的过大的规模和复杂性肯定会阻碍 QT 设备探索其完整的市场潜力。要实现这一目标，需要大幅提高此类系统的移动性，要求它们变得更小、更坚固。这将促进 QT 设备变得便携，让它们离开实验室环境，成为技术而不是研究设备。此外，为了使 QT 设备影响广泛的市场，有必要将其商业化并支持供应链的创建，从而降低成本并提高可靠性。该项目的目的是通过开发“全集成”来实现这一目标。 “一个”单元，即 FreezeRay，它将能够作为各种冷原子实验的核心引擎。这将通过改进新型全光纤激光系统和开发具有有限泵浦依赖性的小型真空系统来实现。由此产生的集成封装将成为众多后续 QT 设备或实验的中心点。 FreezeRay 引擎我们已经组成了一个由两个工业合作伙伴和一个学术合作伙伴组成的联盟。伯明翰大学冷原子小组通过真空和激光系统的新颖发展，在冷原子系统小型化方面拥有强大的背景。 UoB 将把他们的知识应用到系统设计阶段，确保设计规范将提供适合集成到 QT 设备中的冷原子源。 Gooch & Housego 将应用其世界领先的光子学专业知识来开发基于光纤的激光系统以及控制和稳定电子设备。该激光系统将采用电信激光源的倍频。这使得系统的大部分都基于电信技术，从而降低了成本并提高了可靠性。 e2v 将利用其在小型独立真空室开发方面的强大背景来创建新颖且紧凑的真空系统，然后将其与激光系统集成。该单元完成后，伦敦大学将对该系统进行表征和评估。