Device and method for interaction between an agile laser beam and a hyperfine energy transition of a chemical species

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11744003-B2
Application number	US-201816766385-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 22, 2018
Priority date	Nov 24, 2017
Publication date	Aug 29, 2023
Grant date	Aug 29, 2023

Abstract

Disclosed is a device for interaction between a laser beam and a hyperfine energy transition of a chemical species. The device further includes an electro-optic modulator with a single sideband with an input optical waveguide suitable for receiving a source laser beam and an output optical waveguide suitable for generating an output laser beam and an electronic system suitable for generating and applying, simultaneously, a first modulated electrical signal, sin(Ω 1 t)) to a first hyperfrequency pulse on a first high-frequency electrode of the electro-optic modulator and, respectively, another modulated electrical signal, cos(Ω 1 t)) to the first pulse on another high-frequency electrode of the electro-optic modulator, in such a way as to frequency-switch the output laser beam to a first optical frequency offset from the first pulse with respect to the initial optical frequency.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for interaction between a laser beam and a hyperfine energy transition of a chemical species placed in a vacuum space, comprising:
a laser source ( 19 ) adapted to emit a source laser beam at an initial optical frequency (ωo),
wherein the device further includes:
a single sideband electro-optic modulator ( 55 ) comprising an input optical waveguide ( 57 ) adapted to receive the source laser beam and an output optical waveguide adapted to generate an output laser beam, the electro-optic modulator ( 55 ) having a first high-frequency electrode ( 62 a ), another high-frequency electrode ( 62 b ) and a plurality of low-frequency electrodes ( 63 a , 63 b , 64 ),
a low-frequency voltage generator ( 79 ), configured to apply on each of said low-frequency electrodes a low-frequency voltage adapted to generate a predetermined optical phase-shift in the optical waveguide, and
an electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) comprising a clock, the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to generate a first electrical signal (sin(Ωt), sin(Ω 1 t)) modulated at a first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) and, respectively, another electrical signal (cos(Ωt), cos(Ω 1 t)) modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ), synchronized by the clock, the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to amplitude and phase-tune the first modulated electrical signal (sin(Ωt), sin(Ω 1 t)) with respect to the other electrical signal (cos(Ωt), cos(Ω 1 t)) modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ), the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to simultaneously apply the first electrical signal (sin(Ωt), sin(Ω 1 t )) modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) to the first high-frequency electrode ( 62 a ) and, respectively, the other electrical signal (cos(Ωt), cos (Ω 1 t )) modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) to the other high-frequency electrode ( 62 b ), and the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to switch and tune the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) in a microwave spectral range extending over at most 100 gigahertz so as to frequency-switch the output laser beam to a first optical frequency (ωo+Ω, ωo+Ω 1 , ωo-Ω, ωo-Ω 1 ) shifted by the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) with respect to the initial optical frequency (ωo) while attenuating the output laser beam at the initial optical frequency (ωo) and at the other harmonics of the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) with respect to the initial optical frequency (ωo), wherein the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) is adapted to generate a second electrical signal (sin(Ω 2 t )) modulated at a second pulse (Ω 2 ) and, respectively, another electrical signal (cos (Ω 2 t )) modulated at the second pulse (Ω 2 ), the second modulated electrical signal (sin(Ω 2 t )) and the other electrical signal (cos (Ω 2 t )) modulated at the second pulse (Ω 2 ) being synchronized by the clock, the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to amplitude and phase-tune the second electrical signal (sin(Ω 2 t )) modulated at the second pulse (Ω 2 ) with respect to the first electrical signal (sin(Ωt), sin(Ω 1 t)) modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) and to form a first electrical signal double-modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) and at the second pulse (Ω 2 ), the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to amplitude and phase-tune the other electrical signal (cos (Ω 2 t )) modulated at the second pulse (Ω 2 ) with respect to the other electrical signal (cos(Ωt), cos (Ω 1 t)) modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) and to form another electrical signal double-modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) and the second pulse (Ω 2 ), and the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to electrical phase-shift-tune the first double-modulated electrical signal with respect to the other double-modulated electrical signal, and the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to simultaneously apply the first double-modulated electrical signal to the first high-frequency electrode ( 62 a ) and, respectively, the other double-modulated electrical signal to the other high-frequency electrode ( 62 b ), and the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to switch and tune the second pulse (Ω 2 ) in a microwave spectral range extending over at most 100 gigahertz so as to frequency-switch the output laser beam simultaneously to the first optical frequency shifted by the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) with respect to the initial optical frequency (ωo) and to a second optical frequency shifted by the second pulse (Ω 2 ) with respect to the initial optical frequency (ωo), the first shifted optical frequency and the second shifted optical frequency being shifted in the same direction with respect to the initial optical frequency (ωo), while attenuating the output laser beam at the other harmonics of the second pulse (Ω 2 ) with respect to the initial optical frequency (ωo).

2. A device for interaction between a laser beam and a hyperfine energy transition of a chemical species placed in a vacuum space, comprising:
a laser source ( 19 ) adapted to emit a source laser beam at an initial optical frequency (ωo),
wherein the device further includes:
a single sideband electro-optic modulator ( 55 ) comprising an input optical waveguide ( 57 ) adapted to receive the source laser beam and an output optical waveguide adapted to generate an output laser beam, the electro-optic modulator ( 55 ) having a first high-frequency electrode ( 62 a ), another high-frequency electrode ( 62 b ) and a plurality of low-frequency electrodes ( 63 a , 63 b , 64 ),
a low-frequency voltage generator ( 79 ), configured to apply on each of said low-frequency electrodes a low-frequency voltage adapted to generate a predetermined optical phase-shift in the optical waveguide, and
an electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) comprising a clock, the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to generate a first electrical signal (sin(Ωt), sin(Ω 1 t )) modulated at a first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) and, respectively, another electrical signal (cos(Ωt), cos(Ω 1 t)) modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ), synchronized by the clock, the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to amplitude and phase-tune the first modulated electrical signal (sin(Ωt), sin(Ω 1 t )) with respect to the other electrical signal (cos(Ωt), cos(Ω 1 t)) modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ), the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to simultaneously apply the first electrical signal (sin(Ωt), sin(Ω 1 t )) modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) to the first high-frequency electrode ( 62 a ) and, respectively, the other electrical signal (cos(Ωt), cos (Ω 1 t )) modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) to the other high-frequency electrode ( 62 b ), and the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) being adapted to switch and tune the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) in a microwave spectral range extending over at most 100 gigahertz so as to frequency-switch the output laser beam to a first optical frequency (ωo+Ω, ωo+Ω 1 , ωo−Ω, ωo-Ω 1 ) shifted by the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) with respect to the initial optical frequency (ωo) while attenuating the output laser beam at the initial optical frequency (ωo) and at the other harmonics of the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) with respect to the initial optical frequency (ωo), wherein the electronic system ( 75 , 76 ) includes a radiofrequency electronic synthesizer ( 75 ) adapted to generate an electrical signal modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) and a hybrid coupler ( 76 ) having a first output channel ( 77 ) and a second output channel ( 78 ), the first output channel ( 77 ) being electrically connected to the first high-frequency electrode ( 62 a ), and respectively, the second output channel ( 78 ) being electrically connected to the other high-frequency electrode ( 62 b ), the hybrid coupler ( 76 ) being adapted to receive the electrical signal modulated at the first pulse (Ω, Ω 1 ) and to generate the first electrical signal (sin(Ωt),

Assignees

• Ixblue
• Inst Doptique Graduate School
• Centre Nat Rech Scient
• Univ Bordeaux
• Exail

Inventors

• Porte Henri
• Battelier Baptiste

Classifications

• H05H3/04 Primary

  Acceleration by electromagnetic wave pressure · CPC title

• G02F1/011

  in optical waveguides, not otherwise provided for in this subclass · CPC title

• G02F1/31

  Digital deflection, {i.e. optical switching}(G02F1/33 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02F1/3551

  Crystals · CPC title

• G02F1/3558

  Poled materials, e.g. with periodic poling; Fabrication of domain inverted structures, e.g. for quasi-phase-matching [QPM] · CPC title