Abstract: In a disclosed embodiment, an ultra-cold-matter (UCM) system includes a source cell nested within a hermetically-sealed ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) enclosure. Source particles, e.g., strontium atoms, can be generated within the source cell by heating a non-vapor-phase source material. The source cell is thermally isolated, e.g., by UHV, from the enclosure. Accordingly, heat is retained in the source cell, reducing the amount of heat that must be generated in the source cell to generate the vapor-phase source particles. Particles can exit the source cell to an UHV ultra-cold region where the source particles can be cooled to produce ultra-cold particles thermally isolated from the heat within the source cell.

Abstract: In a disclosed embodiment, an ultra-cold-matter (UCM) system includes a source cell nested within a hermetically-sealed ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) enclosure. Source particles, e.g., strontium atoms, can be generated within the source cell by heating a non-vapor-phase source material. The source cell is thermally isolated, e.g., by UHV, from the enclosure. Accordingly, heat is retained in the source cell, reducing the amount of heat that must be generated in the source cell to generate the vapor-phase source particles. Particles can exit the source cell to an UHV ultra-cold region where the source particles can be cooled to produce ultra-cold particles thermally isolated from the heat within the source cell.

Abstract: A cold-atom system has multiple vacuum chambers. One vacuum chamber includes an atom source. A fluidic connection is provided between that vacuum chamber and another vacuum chamber. The fluidic connection includes a microchannel formed as a groove in a substantially flat surface and covered by a layer of material.

Abstract: Cold-atom systems and methods of handling cold atoms are disclosed. A cold-atom system has multiple chambers and a fluidic connection between two of the chambers. One of these two chambers includes an atom source and the other includes an atom chip.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved alkali metal dispenser which is pure and free of contaminant gases, and provides for controlled releasing, delivery and recycling of the alkali metal in multiple stages in a controlled manner. The present invention also provides an alkali metal pump or getter.

Abstract: A cold-atom system has multiple vacuum chambers. One vacuum chamber includes an atom source. A fluidic connection is provided between that vacuum chamber and another vacuum chamber. The fluidic connection includes a microchannel formed as a groove in a substantially flat surface and covered by a layer of material.

Abstract: Cold-atom systems and methods of handling cold atoms are disclosed. A cold-atom system has multiple chambers and a fluidic connection between two of the chambers. One of these two chambers includes an atom source and the other includes an atom chip.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved alkali metal dispenser which is pure and free of contaminant gases, and provides for controlled releasing, delivery and recycling of the alkali metal in multiple stages in a controlled manner. The present invention also provides an alkali metal pump or getter.

Abstract: A compact vacuum chamber gives electric and optical access to a microchip, which is part of the chamber. The main use of the microchip is to confine, cool and manipulate cold atoms (atom chip). The main new feature is that the microchip forms one wall of a vacuum cell. This makes the chamber compact and lightweight, provides large optical access combined with small overall size, eliminates in-vacuum cabling, and makes the back surface of the chip accessible from the outside (e.g., for cooling and/or additional field-producing elements).

Abstract: A photorefractive pirouette display device can produce the sonogram of speech sounds by incorporating the short-time Fourier spectrum of speech waves as the input. The device requires a coherent source of optical radiation which can be obtained for a variety of different lasers. A photorefractive circuit is used to display a time-dependent signal, beam. An analog signal is imposed on the beam as temporal modulations on its intensity and/or phase, the pump beam is a plane wave constant amplitude. The signal beam interferes with the pump beam in the photorefractive crystal, the resultant intensity modulation pattern nonuniformly excites the charge carriers in the crystal. The excited charge carrier migrate in the crystal to form a microscope electric field, which produces an index grating in the crystal due to the Pockels effect. The crystal is rotating continually with angular velocity. The pump beam diffracts off of the holographic grating and reconstructs the signal beam.

Abstract: The invention involves a method for making Bragg gratings in glass optical fibers, or other glass optical waveguides, which is relatively insensitive to perturbations in the actinic light used for processing. This method is suitable for mass production and lends itself well to the manufacturing environment. The invention method involves first providing an optical phase grating. An interference pattern is generated by impinging a single light beam on the grating. The optical waveguide to be processed is exposed to this interference pattern, leading to the formation of a Bragg grating in the waveguide.

Abstract: In a fiber optic communication system, an acoustooptic modulator operates to provide a coherent light beam that is data encoded in the beam's time domain, for example by intensity modulation of the beam. A spatial light modulator then operates to address encode the beam by modulating the beam in the space domain. The resulting data and address modulated beam possesses the property of orthogonality. This beam is now transmitted to the input of a multimode optical fiber. The speckle pattern that exits the output of the optical fiber also exhibits orthogonality. This output beam is presented to a beam splitter in order to produce two spatially modulated speckle light patterns therefrom. These two beams are then focused onto photorefractive means whereat a hologram is produced. This hologram operates to address decode the beam output of the optical fiber. Detector means now operates to detect the data by receiving the beam as it is diffracted by the hologram. Ring and star interconnect networks are described.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an improved passive ring laser gyroscope with two systems: common mode and differential mode error systems. The common mode error system modulates counter propagating coherent radiation. The modulated light from a common source is split at a beam splitter before the reasonator cavity and then optically recombined at the same beam splitter for further propagation to an electronic detecting and demodulation servo system. The resulting electronic error signal is used to adjust the ring resonator and the laser so that the frequency output of the coherent radiation of the laser is substantially equal to the resonance frequency of the ring resonator. The differential mode error system optically substracts counter propagating radiation signals emanating from the resonator cavity to form a differential error signal that is detectable by an electronic detector for further processing by demodulation.

Abstract: Changes in an image are detectable by a tracking novelty filter while an incorporated holographic medium is in disequilibrium. A suitably doped single-domain barium titanate crystal can serve as the holographic medium. Image information is imposed on a laser beam in the form of a spatially varying polarization across the beam cross section spatial position. The modulated beam is directed to the crystal, which cooperates with a polarizing beam splitter and a half wave plate to define a polarization conjugator. The conjugated beam is passed through the modulator a second time and then operated on by a beam splitter. When the crystal is in equilibrium with the incident laser light, the beam splitter directs minimal light to a detector. However, when an image change causes a change in the applied modulation, the changed image elements are intensified at the detector while the holographic medium is in disequilibrium. In alternative embodiments, phase is the variable modulated.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for making decay time measurements of an optical cavity having at least two reflecting optical elements by directing a beam of light into the cavity, switching the beam of light off when the intensity in the cavity reaches a predetermined threshold level, monitoring the beam intensity decay of the optical cavity, and measuring the intensity decay time either with a storage oscilloscope or a digital counter.

Abstract: A nonplanar ring laser for use as a laser gyro includes an even number of at least six reflecting surfaces which are preferably all made from the same coating batch or coating run so that they have substantially the same anisotropy characteristics. The mirrors are divided into pairs of mirrors, and the mirrors in at least each pair must match in their anisotropic characteristics. Note that the matched mirrors need only be in the laser path but not necessarily adjacent.The nonplanar geometric arrangement of the reflecting surfaces is such that the reflecting plane of incidence of each mirror is at substantially a right angle to the reflecting plane of incidence of at least one of the adjacent mirrors in the laser path. Note that the reflecting plane of incidence of each mirror may optionally be at right angles to the reflecting planes of incidence of both its adjacent mirrors in the laser path.The angles of incidence of the mirrors in each matched pair must be substantially the same.