Iain MacCuish (Strathclyde)
Fresnel Zone Plate Waveguides for Atom Interferometry: Towards a low Size Weight and Power Atomic Sagnac Interferometer
Atom interferometry is a versatile and well-established technique for high precision measurement with numerous applications, ranging from the measurement of magnetic fields, gravity gradients and inertial effects to the determination of fundamental constants. The sensitivity of an atom interferometer is proportional to the area enclosed within the interferometer arms. This proportionality is, however, at odds with the development of low-profile sensor packages. One option to overcome this is the use of atomic waveguides to guide an atom interferometer’s wave packets and reduce the overall size whilst maintaining the high sensitivity associated with a higher enclosed area. In particular, ring-shaped potentials provide the required guidance and can be created using a variety of techniques, such as diffractive optics known as Fresnel Zone Plates (FZPs). In this talk, we will discuss the use of different types of atomic waveguides towards improved compact atom interferometers and with particular focus on using FZPs to produce waveguides for cold atom interferometers.