Single-Source Multiaxis Cold-Atom Interferometer in a Centimeter-Scale Cell

The use of matter-wave interferometry to detect inertial forces is already a powerful tool in precision measurement, but extending it beyond the lab to navigation applications requires optimization for compact setups. Here researchers characterize point-source atom interferometry (PSI) in a centimeter-scale cell, using an expanding cloud of cold atoms and an optical Raman interaction for simultaneous measurement of the system's acceleration along the Raman laser beams plus its rotation vector projected into the plane perpendicular to the beams. The sensitivity measurements presented here inform the further development of quantum inertial sensing that balances size and performance.