6-axis inertial sensor using cold-atom interferometry

B. Canuel (1) , F. Leduc (1) , D. Holleville (1) , Alexandre Gauguet (1) , J. Fils (1) , A. Virdis (1) , A. Clairon (1) , N. Dimarcq (1) , Ch. J. Borde (1) , Philippe Bouyer (2) , A. Landragin (1)

1 SYRTE - Systèmes de Référence Temps Espace
2 laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique / Optique atomique

We have developed an atom interferometer providing a full inertial base. This device uses two counter-propagating cold-atom clouds that are launched in strongly curved parabolic trajectories. Three single Raman beam pairs, pulsed in time, are successively applied in three orthogonal directions leading to the measurement of the three axis of rotation and acceleration. In this purpose, we introduce a new atom gyroscope using a butterfly geometry. We discuss the present sensitivity and the possible improvements.

Domaines: Autre [cond-mat.other]

B. Canuel, F. Leduc, D. Holleville, Alexandre Gauguet, J. Fils, et al.. 6-axis inertial sensor using cold-atom interferometry. Physical Review Letters, 2006, 97, pp.010402. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.010402⟩. ⟨hal-00106373⟩