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NASA NTRS2009

Reliability Analysis of Systems Subject to First-Passage Failure

An obvious goal of reliability analysis is the avoidance of system failure. However, it is generally recognized that it is often not feasible to design a practical or useful system for which failure is impossible. Thus it is necessary to use techniques that estimate the likelihood of failure based on modeling the uncertainty about such items as the demands on and capacities of various elements in the system. This usually involves the use of probability theory, and a design is considered acceptable if it has a sufficiently small probability of failure. This report contains findings of analyses of systems subject to first-passage failure.

Lutes, Loren D.↗

NASA NTRS2003

A High Power Frequency Doubled Fiber Laser

This slide presentation reviews the power frequencies for the doubled fiber laser. It includes information on the 780 nm laser, second harmonic generation in one crystal, cascading crystals, the tenability of laser systems, laser cooling, and directions for future work.

high power lasers↗

NASA NTRS2006

Few-Mode Whispering-Gallery-Mode Resonators

Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical resonators of a type now under development are designed to support few well-defined waveguide modes. In the simplest case, a resonator of this type would support one equatorial family of WGMs; in a more complex case, such a resonator would be made to support two, three, or some other specified finite number of modes. Such a resonator can be made of almost any transparent material commonly used in optics. The nature of the supported modes does not depend on which material is used, and the geometrical dispersion of this resonator is much smaller than that of a typical prior WGM resonator. Moreover, in principle, many such resonators could be fabricated as integral parts of a single chip. Basically, a resonator of this type consists of a rod, made of a suitable transparent material, from which protrudes a thin circumferential belt of the same material. The belt is integral with the rest of the rod (see figure) and acts as a circumferential waveguide. If the depth (d) and width (w) of the belt are made appropriately small, then the belt acts as though it were the core of a single-mode optical fiber: the belt and its adjacent supporting rod material support a single, circumferentially propagating mode or family of modes. It has been shown theoretically that the fiber-optic-like behavior of the belton- rod resonator structure can be summarized, in part, by the difference, Dn, between (1) an effective index of refraction of an imaginary fiber core and (2) the index of refraction (n) of the transparent rod/belt material. It has also been shown theoretically that for a given required value of Dn, the required depth of the belt can be estimated as d R Dn, where R is the radius of the rod. It must be emphasized that this estimated depth is independent of n and, hence, is independent of the choice of rod material. As in the cases of prior WGM resonators, input/output optical coupling involves utilization of evanescent fields. In the present case, there are two evanescent fields: one at the belt/air interface and one in the boundary region between the belt and the rest of the rod.

Savchenkov, Anatoliy↗

NASA NTRS2010

Differential temperature sensor system and method

A differential temperature sensor system and method of determining a temperature shift of an optical resonator and its surroundings are provided. The differential temperature sensor system includes a light generating device capable of generating a beam having a carrier frequency, a modulator capable of modulating the beam with a sideband frequency, and an optical resonator capable of supporting an ordinary mode and an extraordinary mode. The system includes an ordinary mode-lock setup capable of locking the carrier frequency of the beam to the ordinary mode of the optical resonator and an extraordinary mode-lock setup capable of locking the sideband frequency of the beam to the extraordinary mode of the optical resonator by providing a specific radio frequency to the modulator substantially corresponding to a frequency shift between the ordinary mode and the extraordinary mode of the optical resonator resulting from a temperature change of the optical resonator. A processor precisely calculates the differential temperature based upon the frequency shift between the ordinary mode and extraordinary mode of the optical resonator.

Savchenkov, Anatoliy A.↗

NASA NTRS2010

A Transportable Gravity Gradiometer Based on Atom Interferometry

A transportable atom interferometer-based gravity gradiometer has been developed at JPL to carry out measurements of Earth's gravity field at ever finer spatial resolutions, and to facilitate high-resolution monitoring of temporal variations in the gravity field from ground- and flight-based platforms. Existing satellite-based gravity missions such as CHAMP and GRACE measure the gravity field via precise monitoring of the motion of the satellites; i.e. the satellites themselves function as test masses. JPL's quantum gravity gradiometer employs a quantum phase measurement technique, similar to that employed in atomic clocks, made possible by recent advances in laser cooling and manipulation of atoms. This measurement technique is based on atomwave interferometry, and individual laser-cooled atoms are used as drag-free test masses. The quantum gravity gradiometer employs two identical atom interferometers as precision accelerometers to measure the difference in gravitational acceleration between two points (Figure 1). By using the same lasers for the manipulation of atoms in both interferometers, the accelerometers have a common reference frame and non-inertial accelerations are effectively rejected as common mode noise in the differential measurement of the gravity gradient. As a result, the dual atom interferometer-based gravity gradiometer allows gravity measurements on a moving platform, while achieving the same long-term stability of the best atomic clocks. In the laboratory-based prototype (Figure 2), the cesium atoms used in each atom interferometer are initially collected and cooled in two separate magneto-optic traps (MOTs). Each MOT, consisting of three orthogonal pairs of counter-propagating laser beams centered on a quadrupole magnetic field, collects up to 10(exp 9) atoms. These atoms are then launched vertically as in an atom fountain by switching off the magnetic field and introducing a slight frequency shift between pairs of lasers to create a moving rest frame for the trapped atoms. While still in this moving-frame molasses, the laser frequencies are further detuned from the atomic resonance (while maintaining this relative frequency shift) to cool the atom cloud's temperature to 2 K or below, corresponding to an rms velocity of less than 2 cm/s. After launch, the cold atoms undergo further state and velocity selection to prepare for atom interferometry. The atom interferometers are then realized using laser-induced stimulated Raman transitions to perform the necessary manipulations of each atom, and the resulting interferometer phase is measured using laser-induced fluorescence for state-normalized detection. More than 20 laser beams with independent controls of frequency, phase, and intensity are required for this measurement sequence. This instrument can facilitate the study of Earth's gravitational field from surface and air vehicles, as well as from space by allowing gravity mapping from a low-cost, single spacecraft mission. In addition, the operation of atom interferometer-based instruments in space offers greater sensitivity than is possible in terrestrial instruments due to the much longer interrogation times available in the microgravity environment. A space-based quantum gravity gradiometer has the potential to achieve sensitivities similar to the GRACE mission at long spatial wavelengths, and will also have resolution similar to GOCE for measurement at shorter length scales.

Yu, Nan↗

NASA NTRS2010

Using Whispering-Gallery-Mode Resonators for Refractometry

A method of determining the refractive and absorptive properties of optically transparent materials involves a combination of theoretical and experimental analysis of electromagnetic responses of whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonator disks made of those materials. The method was conceived especially for use in studying transparent photorefractive materials, for which purpose this method affords unprecedented levels of sensitivity and accuracy. The method is expected to be particularly useful for measuring temporally varying refractive and absorptive properties of photorefractive materials at infrared wavelengths. Still more particularly, the method is expected to be useful for measuring drifts in these properties that are so slow that, heretofore, the properties were assumed to be constant. The basic idea of the method is to attempt to infer values of the photorefractive properties of a material by seeking to match (1) theoretical predictions of the spectral responses (or selected features thereof) of a WGM of known dimensions made of the material with (2) the actual spectral responses (or selected features thereof). Spectral features that are useful for this purpose include resonance frequencies, free spectral ranges (differences between resonance frequencies of adjacently numbered modes), and resonance quality factors (Q values). The method has been demonstrated in several experiments, one of which was performed on a WGM resonator made from a disk of LiNbO3 doped with 5 percent of MgO. The free spectral range of the resonator was approximately equal to 3.42 GHz at wavelengths in the vicinity of 780 nm, the smallest full width at half maximum of a mode was approximately equal to 50 MHz, and the thickness of the resonator in the area of mode localization was 30 microns. In the experiment, laser power of 9 mW was coupled into the resonator with an efficiency of 75 percent, and the laser was scanned over a frequency band 9 GHz wide at a nominal wavelength of approximately equal to 780 nm. Resonance frequencies were measured as functions of time during several hours of exposure to the laser light. The results of these measurements, plotted in the figure, show a pronounced collective frequency drift of the resonator modes. The size of the drift has been estimated to correspond to a change of 8.5 x 10(exp -5) in the effective ordinary index of refraction of the resonator material.

Matsko, Andrey↗

NASA NTRS2006

Tunable Filter Made From Three Coupled WGM Resonators

A tunable third-order band-pass optical filter has been constructed as an assembly of three coupled, tunable, whispering-gallery-mode resonators similar to the one described in Whispering-Gallery-Mode Tunable Narrow-Band-Pass Filter (NPO-30896), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 4 (April 2004), page 5a. This filter offers a combination of four characteristics that are desirable for potential applications in photonics: (1) wide real-time tunability accompanied by a high-order filter function, (2) narrowness of the passband, (3) relatively low loss between input and output coupling optical fibers, and (4) a sparse spectrum. In contrast, prior tunable band-pass optical filters have exhibited, at most, two of these four characteristics. As described in several prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonator is a spheroidal, disklike, or toroidal body made of a highly transparent material. It is so named because it is designed to exploit whispering-gallery electromagnetic modes, which are waveguide modes that propagate circumferentially and are concentrated in a narrow toroidal region centered on the equatorial plane and located near the outermost edge. Figure 1 depicts the optical layout of the present filter comprising an assembly of three coupled, tunable WGM resonators. Each WGM resonator is made from a disk of Z-cut LiNbO3 of 3.3-mm diameter and 50-m thickness. The perimeter of the disk is polished and rounded to a radius of curvature of 40 microns. The free spectral range of each WGM resonator is about 13.3 GHz. Gold coats on the flat faces of the disk serve as electrodes for exploiting the electro-optical effect in LiNbO3 for tuning. There is no metal coat on the rounded perimeter region, where the whispering-gallery modes propagate. Light is coupled from an input optical fiber into the whispering-gallery-modes of the first WGM resonator by means of a diamond prism. Another diamond prism is used to couple light from the whispering-gallery-modes of the third WGM resonator to an output optical fiber. The filter operates at a nominal wavelength of 1,550 nm and can be tuned over a frequency range of plus or minus 12 GHz by applying a potential in the range of plus or minus 150 V to the electrodes. The insertion loss (the loss between the input and output coupling optical fibers) was found to be repeatable at 6 dB. The resonance quality factor (Q) of the main sequence of resonator modes was found to be 5 x 10(exp 6), which corresponds to a bandwidth of 30 MHz. The filter can be shifted from one operating frequency to another within a tuning time less than or equal to 30 micro seconds. The transmission curve of the filter at frequencies near the middle of the passband closely approximates a theoretical third-order Butterworth filter profile, as shown in Figure 2.

Savchenkov, Anatoliy↗

NASA NTRS2010

Squeezing Alters Frequency Tuning of WGM Optical Resonator

Mechanical squeezing has been found to alter the frequency tuning of a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical resonator that has an elliptical shape and is made of lithium niobate. It may be possible to exploit this effect to design reconfigurable optical filters for optical communications and for scientific experiments involving quantum electrodynamics. Some background information is prerequisite to a meaningful description of the squeezing-induced alteration of frequency tuning: The spectrum of a WGM resonator is represented by a comblike plot of intensity versus frequency. Each peak of the comblike plot corresponds to an electromagnetic mode represented by an integer mode number, and the modes are grouped into sets represented by integer mode indices. Because lithium niobate is an electro-optically active material, the WGM resonator can be tuned (that is, the resonance frequencies can be shifted) by applying a suitable bias potential. The frequency shift of each mode is quantified by a tuning rate defined as the ratio between the frequency shift and the applied potential. In the absence of squeezing, all modes exhibit the same tuning rate. This concludes the background information. It has been demonstrated experimentally that when the resonator is squeezed along part of either of its two principal axes, tuning rates differ among the groups of modes represented by different indices (see figure). The differences in tuning rates could be utilized to configure the resonance spectrum to obtain a desired effect; for example, through a combination of squeezing and electrical biasing, two resonances represented by different mode indices could be set at a specified frequency difference something that could not be done through electrical biasing alone.

Mohageg, Makan↗

NASA NTRS2006

Graded-Index "Whispering-Gallery" Optical Microresonators

Graded-index-of-refraction dielectric optical microresonators have been proposed as a superior alternative to prior dielectric optical microresonators, which include microspheres and microtori wherein electromagnetic waves propagate along circumferential paths in "whispering-gallery" modes. The design and method of fabrication of the proposed microresonators would afford improved performance by exploiting a combination of the propagation characteristics of the whisperinggallery modes and the effect of a graded index of refraction on the modes.

Savchenkov, Anatoliy↗

NASA NTRS2006

Manufacture of Sparse-Spectrum Optical Microresonators

An alternative design for dielectric optical microresonators and a relatively simple process to fabricate them have been proposed. The proposed microresonators would exploit the same basic physical phenomena as those of microtorus optical resonators and of the microsphere optical resonators described elsewhere. The resonances in such devices are associated with the propagation of electromagnetic waves along circumferential paths in "whispering-gallery" modes. The main advantage afforded by the proposal is that the design and the fabrication process are expected to be amenable to production of multiple microresonators having reproducible spectral parameters -- including, most notably, high values of the resonance quality factor (Q) and reproducible resonance frequencies.

Savchenkov, Anatoliy↗

NASA NTRS2006

Exact Tuning of High-Q Optical Microresonators by Use of UV

In one of several alternative approaches to the design and fabrication of a "whispering-gallery" optical microresonator of high resonance quality (high Q), the index of refraction of the resonator material and, hence, the resonance frequencies. In this approach, a microresonator structure is prepared by forming it from an ultraviolet-sensitive material. Then the structure is subjected to controlled exposure to UV light while its resonance frequencies are monitored.

Savchankov, Anaotliy↗

NASA NTRS2010

Method of shifting and fixing optical frequency of an optical resonator, and optical resonator made by same

A method of shifting and fixing an optical frequency of an optical resonator to a desired optical frequency, and an optical resonator made by such a method are provided. The method includes providing an optical resonator having a surface and a refractive index, and obtaining a coating composition having a predetermined concentration of a substance and having a refractive index that is substantially similar to the refractive index of the optical resonator. The coating composition inherently possesses a thickness when it is applied as a coating. The method further includes determining a coating ratio for the surface of the optical resonator and applying the coating composition onto a portion of the surface of the optical resonator based upon the determined coating ratio.

Savchenkov, Anatoliy A.↗

NASA NTRS2006

White-Light Whispering-Gallery-Mode Optical Resonators

Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical resonators can be designed to exhibit continuous spectra over wide wavelength bands (in effect, white-light spectra), with ultrahigh values of the resonance quality factor (Q) that are nearly independent of frequency. White-light WGM resonators have potential as superior alternatives to (1) larger, conventional optical resonators in ring-down spectroscopy, and (2) optical-resonator/electro-optical-modulator structures used in coupling of microwave and optical signals in atomic clocks. In these and other potential applications, the use of white-light WGM resonators makes it possible to relax the requirement of high-frequency stability of lasers, thereby enabling the use of cheaper lasers. In designing a white-light WGM resonator, one exploits the fact that the density of the mode spectrum increases predictably with the thickness of the resonator disk. By making the resonator disk sufficiently thick, one can make the frequency differences between adjacent modes significantly less than the spectral width of a single mode, so that the spectral peaks of adjacent modes overlap, making the resonator spectrum essentially continuous. Moreover, inasmuch as the Q values of the various modes are determined primarily by surface Rayleigh scattering that does not depend on mode numbers, all the modes have nearly equal Q. By use of a proper coupling technique, one can ensure excitation of a majority of the modes. For an experimental demonstration of a white-light WGM resonator, a resonator disk 0.5-mm thick and 5 mm in diameter was made from CaF2. The shape of the resonator and the fiberoptic coupling arrangement were as shown in Figure 1. The resonator was excited with laser light having a wavelength of 1,320 nm and a spectral width of 4 kHz. The coupling efficiency exceeded 80 percent at any frequency to which the laser could be set in its tuning range, which was >100-GHz wide. The resonator response was characterized by means of ring-down tests in which the excitation was interrupted by a shutter having a rise and a fall time of 5 ns. The ring-down time of photodiodes and associated circuitry used to measure the interrupted excitation and the resonator output was <1 ns. Figure 2 shows the shapes of representative input and output light pulses. The average ring-down time was found to be 120 ns, corresponding to Q=2x10(exp 8). The variations of Q with the laser carrier frequency were found to be <5 percent. Hence, the resonator was shown to have the desired white light properties.

Matsko, Andrey↗

NASA NTRS2006

Stabilizing Microwave Frequency of a Photonic Oscillator

A scheme for stabilizing the frequency of a microwave signal is proposed that exploits the operational characteristics of a coupled optoelectronic oscillator (COEO) and related optoelectronic equipment. An essential element in the scheme is a fiber mode-locked laser (MLL), the optical frequency of which is locked to an atomic transition. In this scheme, the optical frequency stability of the mode-locked laser is transferred to that of the microwave in the same device. Relative to prior schemes for using wideband optical frequency comb to stabilize microwave signals, this scheme is simpler and lends itself more readily to implementation in relatively compact, rugged equipment. The anticipated development of small, low-power, lightweight, highly stable microwave oscillators based on this scheme would afford great benefits in communication, navigation, metrology, and fundamental sciences. COEOs of various designs, at various stages of development, in some cases called by different names, have been described in a number of prior NASA Tech Briefs articles. A COEO is an optoelectronic apparatus that generates both short (picosecond) optical pulses and a steady microwave signal having an ultrahigh degree of spectral purity. The term "coupled optoelectronic" in the full name of such an apparatus signifies that its optical and electronic oscillations are coupled to each other in a single device. The present frequency-stabilization scheme is best described indirectly by describing the laboratory apparatus used to demonstrate it. The apparatus (see figure) includes a COEO that generates a comb-like optical spectrum, the various frequency components of which interfere, producing short optical pulses. This spectrum is centered at a nominal wavelength of 1,560 nm. The spectrum separation of this comb is about 10 GHz, as determined primarily by the length of an optical loop and the bandpass filter in the microwave feedback loop. The optical loop serves as microwave resonator having a very high value of the resonance quality factor (Q). The optical frequency of MLL is then stabilized by locking it to an atomic transition as described below. The COEO contains a tunable 1-nm band-pass optical filter and a piezoelectric-transducer (PZT) drum over which a stretch of fiber is wound. The 1-nm-wide pass band of the filter provides coarse tuning to overlap the frequency comb with the atomic transition frequency. Controlled stretching of the fiber by means of the PZT drum can be used in conjunction with temperature control for locking the laser frequency. To reference to an atomic resonance at 780 nm in this demonstration setup, the optical output of the COEO at 1,560 nm is fed through an erbium-doped-fiber amplifier (EDFA) to a frequency doubler in the form of a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal. The frequency-doubled output is combined with the output of a separate frequency-stabilized diode laser at a photodetector. As described thus far, the two 780-nm laser subsystems are nominally independent of each other and can, therefore, operate at different frequencies. Hence, at the photodetector, the two laser beams interfere, so that the output of the photodetector includes a beat note (a component at the difference between the two laser frequencies).

Maleki, Lute↗

NASA NTRS2006

Microwave Oscillators Based on Nonlinear WGM Resonators

Optical oscillators that exploit resonantly enhanced four-wave mixing in nonlinear whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators are under investigation for potential utility as low-power, ultra-miniature sources of stable, spectrally pure microwave signals. There are numerous potential uses for such oscillators in radar systems, communication systems, and scientific instrumentation. The resonator in an oscillator of this type is made of a crystalline material that exhibits cubic Kerr nonlinearity, which supports the four-photon parametric process also known as four-wave mixing. The oscillator can be characterized as all-optical in the sense that the entire process of generation of the microwave signal takes place within the WGM resonator. The resonantly enhanced four-wave mixing yields coherent, phase-modulated optical signals at frequencies governed by the resonator structure. The frequency of the phase-modulation signal, which is in the microwave range, equals the difference between the frequencies of the optical signals; hence, this frequency is also governed by the resonator structure. Hence, further, the microwave signal is stable and can be used as a reference signal. The figure schematically depicts the apparatus used in a proof-of-principle experiment. Linearly polarized pump light was generated by an yttrium aluminum garnet laser at a wavelength of 1.32 microns. By use of a 90:10 fiber-optic splitter and optical fibers, some of the laser light was sent into a delay line and some was transmitted to one face of glass coupling prism, that, in turn, coupled the laser light into a crystalline CaF2 WGM disk resonator that had a resonance quality factor (Q) of 6x10(exp 9). The output light of the resonator was collected via another face of the coupling prism and a single-mode optical fiber, which transmitted the light to a 50:50 fiber-optic splitter. One output of this splitter was sent to a slow photodiode to obtain a DC signal for locking the laser to a particular resonator mode. The other output of this splitter was combined with the delayed laser signal in another 50:50 fiber-optic splitter used as a combiner. The output.of the combiner was fed to a fast photodiode that demodulated light and generated microwave signal. In this optical configuration, the resonator was incorporated into one arm of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which was necessary for the following reasons: It was found that when the output of the resonator was sent directly to a fast photodiode, the output of the photodiode did not include a measurable microwave signal. However, when the resonator was placed in an arm of the interferometer and the delay in the other arm was set at the correct value, the microwave signal appeared. Such behavior is distinctly characteristic of phase-modulated light. The phase-modulation signal had a frequency of about 8 GHz, corresponding to the free spectral range of the resonator. The spectral width of this microwave signal was less than 200 Hz. The threshold pump power for generating the microwave signal was about 1 mW. It would be possible to reduce the threshold power by several orders of magnitude if resonators could be made from crystalline materials in dimensions comparable to those of micro-resonators heretofore made from fused silica.

Maleki, Lute↗

NASA NTRS2005

Atomic Clock Based on Opto-Electronic Oscillator

A proposed highly accurate clock or oscillator would be based on the concept of an opto-electronic oscillator (OEO) stabilized to an atomic transition. Opto-electronic oscillators, which have been described in a number of prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, generate signals at frequencies in the gigahertz range characterized by high spectral purity but not by longterm stability or accuracy. On the other hand, the signals generated by previously developed atomic clocks are characterized by long-term stability and accuracy but not by spectral purity. The proposed atomic clock would provide high spectral purity plus long-term stability and accuracy a combination of characteristics needed to realize advanced developments in communications and navigation. In addition, it should be possible to miniaturize the proposed atomic clock. When a laser beam is modulated by a microwave signal and applied to a photodetector, the electrical output of the photodetector includes a component at the microwave frequency. In atomic clocks of a type known as Raman clocks or coherent-population-trapping (CPT) clocks, microwave outputs are obtained from laser beams modulated, in each case, to create two sidebands that differ in frequency by the amount of a hyperfine transition in the ground state of atoms of an element in vapor form in a cell. The combination of these sidebands produces a transparency in the population of a higher electronic level that can be reached from either of the two ground-state hyperfine levels by absorption of a photon. The beam is transmitted through the vapor to a photodetector. The components of light scattered or transmitted by the atoms in the two hyperfine levels mix in the photodetector and thereby give rise to a signal at the hyperfine- transition frequency. The proposed atomic clock would include an OEO and a rubidium- or cesium- vapor cell operating in the CPT/Raman regime (see figure). In the OEO portion of this atomic clock, as in a typical prior OEO, a laser beam would pass through an electro-optical modulator, the modulated beam would be fed into a fiber-optic delay line, and the delayed beam would be fed to a photodetector. The electrical output of the photodetector would be detected, amplified, filtered, and fed back to the microwave input port of the modulator. The laser would be chosen to have the same wavelength as that of the pertinent ground-state/higher-state transition of the atoms in the vapor. The modulator/ filter combination would be designed to operate at the microwave frequency of the hyperfine transition. Part of the laser beam would be tapped from the fiberoptic loop of the OEO and introduced into the vapor cell. After passing through the cell, this portion of the beam would be detected differentially with a tapped portion of the fiber-optically-delayed beam. The electrical output of the photodetector would be amplified and filtered in a loop that would control a DC bias applied to the modulator. In this manner, the long-term stability and accuracy of the atomic transition would be transferred to the OEO.

Maleki, Lute↗

NASA NTRS2005

Magnetometer Based on Optoelectronic Microwave Oscillator

proposed instrument, intended mainly for use as a magnetometer, would include an optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) stabilized by an atomic cell that could play the role of a magnetically tunable microwave filter. The microwave frequency would vary with the magnetic field in the cell, thereby providing an indication of the magnetic field. The proposed magnetometer would offer a combination of high accuracy and high sensitivity, characterized by flux densities of less than a picotesla. In comparison with prior magnetometers, the proposed magnetometer could, in principle, be constructed as a compact, lightweight instrument: It could fit into a package of about 10 by 10 by 10 cm and would have a mass <0.5 kg. As described in several prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, an OEO is a hybrid of photonic and electronic components that generates highly spectrally pure microwave radiation, and optical radiation modulated by the microwave radiation, through direct conversion between laser light and microwave radiation in an optoelectronic feedback loop. As used here, "atomic cell" signifies a cell containing a vapor, the constituent atoms of which can be made to undergo transitions between quantum states, denoted hyperfine levels, when excited by light in a suitable wavelength range. The laser light must be in this range. The energy difference between the hyperfine levels defines the microwave frequency. In the proposed instrument (see figure), light from a laser would be introduced into an electro-optical modulator (EOM). Amplitude-modulated light from the exit port of the EOM would pass through a fiber-optic splitter having two output branches. The light in one branch would be sent through an atomic cell to a photodiode. The light in the other branch would constitute the microwave-modulated optical output. Part of the light leaving the atomic cell could also be used to stabilize the laser at a frequency in the vicinity of the desired hyperfine or other quantum transition. The microwave signal from the output of the photodiode would be amplified (if necessary, as explained below) and fed back into the EOM. This system would oscillate if the amplification in the closed loop exceeded the linear absorption of the loop. The microwave amplifier may be unnecessary to sustain stable oscillations, depending on the power of the laser radiation at the photodetector and on particular features of the modulator and optical delay line.

Maleki, Lute↗

NASA NTRS2004

Measuring Gravitation Using Polarization Spectroscopy

A proposed method of measuring gravitational acceleration would involve the application of polarization spectroscopy to an ultracold, vertically moving cloud of atoms (an atomic fountain). A related proposed method involving measurements of absorption of light pulses like those used in conventional atomic interferometry would yield an estimate of the number of atoms participating in the interferometric interaction. The basis of the first-mentioned proposed method is that the rotation of polarization of light is affected by the acceleration of atoms along the path of propagation of the light. The rotation of polarization is associated with a phase shift: When an atom moving in a laboratory reference interacts with an electromagnetic wave, the energy levels of the atom are Doppler-shifted, relative to where they would be if the atom were stationary. The Doppler shift gives rise to changes in the detuning of the light from the corresponding atomic transitions. This detuning, in turn, causes the electromagnetic wave to undergo a phase shift that can be measured by conventional means. One would infer the gravitational acceleration and/or the gradient of the gravitational acceleration from the phase measurements.

Matsko, Andrey↗