Design of an optical cavity for gravimetry
POSTER
Abstract
Atomic interferometry is a widely used method to perform precision measurements of accelerations. We enhance the interferometric signal by adding an optical cavity around the free-falling atoms inside of a vacuum chamber. We use a bow-tie configuration to support a traveling wave and avoid spatial fluctuations in the light shift. To induce collective behavior (entangled state), we design the optical cavity with a cooperativity factor higher than one. We present the characterization of an optical cavity with a maximized beam waist to reach homogeneous illumination of the atomic cloud. The mirrors have high reflectivity (R$=$99.999{\%}) at 780 nm, in a non-confocal arrangement so that we can excite transverse modes independently or simultaneously. We describe our progress to achieve a transverse mode closer to a flat-top and a cavity design that fits our geometrical restrictions.
*Funding from CONACYT