Sub-Doppler spectroscopy of the Cs atom 6S-7P transition at 459 nm in a microfabricated vapor cell.

We report on the characterization of sub-Doppler resonances detected by probing the 6S - 7P transition of the Cs atom at 459 nm in a microfabricated vapor cell. The dependence of the sub-Doppler resonance (linewidth, amplitude) on some key experimental parameters, including the laser intensity and the cell temperature, is investigated. These narrow atomic resonances are of interest for high-resolution spectroscopy and instrumentation and may constitute the basis of a high-stability microcell optical standard.

Cs microcell optical reference with frequency stability in the low 10 range at 1 s.

We describe a high-performance optical frequency reference based on dual-frequency sub-Doppler spectroscopy (DFSDS) using a Cs vapor microfabricated cell and an external-cavity diode laser at 895 nm. Measured against a reference optical signal extracted from a cavity-stabilized laser, the microcell-stabilized laser demonstrates an instability of 3 × 10 at 1 s, in agreement with a phase noise of +40 dBrad/Hz at 1-Hz offset frequency, and below 5 × 10 at 10 s. The laser short-term stability limit is in good agreement with the intermodulation effect from the laser frequency noise.

Pulsed-CPT Cs-Ne microcell atomic clock with frequency stability below 2 × 10 at 10 s.

We report on the mid-term stability progress of a table-top coherent population trapping (CPT) microcell atomic clock, previously limited by light-shift effects and variations of the cell's inner atmosphere. The light-shift contribution is now mitigated through the use of a pulsed symmetric auto-balanced Ramsey (SABR) interrogation technique, combined with setup temperature, laser power, and microwave power stabilization. In addition, Ne buffer gas pressure variations in the cell are now greatly reduced through the use of a micro-fabricated cell built with low permeation alumino-silicate glass (ASG) windows.

Wafer-level vapor cells filled with laser-actuated hermetic seals for integrated atomic devices.

Atomic devices such as atomic clocks and optically-pumped magnetometers rely on the interrogation of atoms contained in a cell whose inner content has to meet high standards of purity and accuracy. Glass-blowing techniques and craftsmanship have evolved over many decades to achieve such standards in macroscopic vapor cells. With the emergence of chip-scale atomic devices, the need for miniaturization and mass fabrication has led to the adoption of microfabrication techniques to make millimeter-scale vapor cells.