Abstract

Atomic interferometers implemented to date have employed mechanical gratings or laser beams as the equivalent of an optical beam splitter. An alternative approach¹ using diffraction from cleaved crystal surfaces is currently under investigation. The advantages of using crystal diffraction include a large (over 20 deg.) angular separation of the two beams and a simple, stable apparatus. Some design considerations and preliminary results, including diffraction measurements, from an apparatus under construction will be discussed.

© 1993 Optical Society of America