A compact dual atom interferometer gyroscope based on laser-cooled rubidium

We present a compact and transportable inertial sensor for precision sensing of rotations and accelerations. The sensor consists of a dual atom interferometer operated with laser-cooled 87 Rb. Raman processes are employed to coherently manipulate the matter waves. We describe and characterize the experimental apparatus. A method for passing from a compact geometry to an extended interferometer with three independent atom-light interaction zones is proposed and investigated. The extended geometry will enhance the sensitivity by more than two orders of magnitude which is necessary to achieve sensitivities better than 10 -8 rad/s/ √( Hz) .