AFRL Scholars Program

Cold Atom Sources (Internship)

Cold atoms are used to make precision measurements of rotation, acceleration, time (think atomic clocks), etc. Atoms are typically cooled using laser cooling techniques to temperatures less than 100 micro Kelvin to reduce thermal noise and increase measurement time. We are investigating new cold atoms sources that either reduce the size, weight, and power (SWAP) requirements of laser cooled sources or that can cool atoms without lasers. Reducing SWAP is an important considering for making compact devices that can be transitioned from the laboratory into real world applications. Cooling atoms without laser opens the possibility of using atoms that currently cannot be cooled but have properties that are of scientific and/or technical interest. The assigned project will depend on the student’s interest and experience.