HYBRID INERTIAL SENSORS - FUTURE PROSPECTS OF INERTIAL SENSORS BASED ON ATOM INTERFEROMETRY

Abstract

Positioning currently relies heavily on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Combined with classical accelerometers and gyroscopes, precise determination of orientation and position at any given time become available. However, but the availability of GNSS (e.g. GPS) is limited and not guaranteed at all times. In this paper we present an alternative based on atom interferometry using cold atom ensembles. An inertial sensor based on cold atoms allows, in theory, for nearly drift-free measurements of inertial forces with accuracies unreached by classical sensors, but the technology is still locked away in large physics laboratories [Nyman 2006]. This paper introduces a compact device called SECAMP, which is capable of cooling atoms down to µ-Kelvin. SECAMP has the potential to measure inertial acceleration in three degrees of freedom. In the following, we present the current experimental setup of the apparatus and outline the next steps for the inertial sensor.