July 28
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11:00 AM
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12:00 PM
2321 Engineering Hall
Compact Cold-Atom Platforms Enabled by Grating MOTs and Progress to Real-World Quantum Sensing
Abstract:
Laser cooling of atoms is the first step in a wide range of atomic and molecular experiments, where low temperatures enable precision measurements. Traditionally, laser-cooling apparatus were large, often approaching room-scale, but over the past decade there have been concerted global efforts, including the UK’s Quantum Hubs initiative, to reduce their size, weight, power, and cost to enable the real-world deployment of quantum technologies.
The University of Strathclyde developed the grating magneto-optical trap (gMOT), which replaces the traditional six-beam MOT optical-geometry with a single input beam and a diffractive optic. This greatly reduces system complexity, eases miniaturisation, and provides a large solid angle of optical access. Typical Rb gMOTs trap >10⁷ atoms from vapour and achieve microkelvin temperatures. Recent advances at Strathclyde include gMOT atomic fountains, optical lattices with the gMOT optic as the reflector, and integration with sub-wavelength RF cavities, paving the way for compact atomic clocks with stabilities approaching 10⁻¹³ τ -1/2.
Another challenge is achieving compact vacuum systems suitable for laser cooling. In collaboration with industrial partners, we have created centilitre-scale ultra-high vacuum chambers with integrated gMOT optics, demonstrating long operational lifetimes without active pumping. When combined with packaged electronics and beam-launch optics, these become true cold-atom platform subsystems, requiring only a power supply and a fibre-coupled laser input.
These platforms are now being translated into field-ready quantum sensors through UK academic–industrial partnerships. Applications include compact atomic clocks (gClock) and hybrid classical–quantum inertial navigation systems, with initial sea trials planned for 2025.
Bio:
Oliver Burrow
Dr. Oliver Burrow is a Research Fellow in the University of Strathclyde’s Experimental Quantum Optics and Photonics Group. He completed his MPhys in Physics with Theoretical Physics at the University of Manchester in 2011 before moving to the University of Liverpool, where his studies were developing a prototype atom interferometer to probe the dark contents of the vacuum under the supervision of Dr Jon Coleman, earning his PhD in 2016. That research group has since become a founding member of the AION and MAGIS collaborations, which are developing cutting-edge atom interferometers for gravitational-wave detection.
Since joining Strathclyde in 2015, Dr. Burrow’s research has focused on developing compact components for laser cooling, with a strong emphasis on knowledge exchange and industrial collaboration. He has played a key role in advancing gMOT optics with Kelvin Nanotechnology and in developing centilitre-scale ultra-high vacuum gMOT systems with CPI-TMD. These technologies have become integral to next-generation quantum sensors in the UK, and he is now leading efforts at Strathclyde with industry to deploy these cold-atom platforms as core subsystems in practical quantum sensors.
Dr. Burrow’s visit is hosted by ECE Associate Professor Jennifer Choy, and ECE Antoine-Bascom Professor and Jack St. Clair Kilby Professor Mikhail Kats