Simulations and Designs for Atom Interferometry Experiments

A Sagnac interferometer using Bose-Einstein condensates for rotation sensing is implemented in a harmonic trapping magnetic potential. The trapped cold atom cloud is manipulated by standing wave laser beams to produce two reciprocal interferometers. We designed a new atom chip for confining cold atoms based on double layer spiral copper wires with different chirality. The chip provides pure gradient magnetic field and requires less currents and power consumption. We also designed a testing chamber for the atom chip. The chamber is used to support the chip, adjust trapping frequencies and allow laser beams coming through. Besides, we developed an image processing program and an experiment control program to automate image generations, collections and analysis. These programs will significantly expedite experiment operations. Finally, we analyzed the effects of the imperfections of Bragg lasers and the trap potential on the interferometer phase shifts. The result will be helpful to control the experiment when we use the interferometer for rotation measurements in the future. The ultimate goal is to realize a compact and portable microchip-based atom gyroscope for rotation sensing and inertial navigation.