On the reduction of gas permeation through the glass windows of micromachined vapor cells using Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ coatings

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Main Authors: Carlé, Clément, Mursa, Andrei, Karvinen, Petri, Keshavarzi, Shervin, Hafiz, Moustafa Abdel, Maurice, Vincent, Boudot, Rodolphe, Passilly, Nicolas
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Carlé, Clément
Mursa, Andrei
Karvinen, Petri
Keshavarzi, Shervin
Hafiz, Moustafa Abdel
Maurice, Vincent
Boudot, Rodolphe
Passilly, Nicolas
author_facet Carlé, Clément
Mursa, Andrei
Karvinen, Petri
Keshavarzi, Shervin
Hafiz, Moustafa Abdel
Maurice, Vincent
Boudot, Rodolphe
Passilly, Nicolas
contents Stability and precision of atomic devices are closely tied to the quality and stability of the internal atmosphere of the atomic vapor cells on which they rely. Such atmosphere can be stabilized by building the cell with low permeation materials such as sapphire, or aluminosilicate glass in microfabricated devices. Recently, we showed that permeation barriers made of Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ thin-film coatings deposited on standard borosilicate glass could be an alternative for buffer gas pressure stabilization. In this study, we hence investigate how helium permeation is influenced by the thickness, ranging from 5 to 40 nm, of such Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ thin-films coated by atomic layer deposition. Permeation rates are derived from long-term measurements of the pressure-shifted transition frequency of a coherent population trapping (CPT) atomic clock. From thicknesses of 20 nm onward, a significant enhancement of the cell hermeticity is experienced, corresponding to two orders of magnitude lower helium permeation rate. In addition, we test cesium vapor cells filled with neon as a buffer gas and whose windows are coated with 20 nm of Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$. As for helium, the permeation rate of neon is significantly reduced thanks to alumina coatings, leading to a fractional frequency stability of 4x10$^{-12}$ at 1 day when the cell is used in a CPT clock. These features outperform the typical performances of uncoated Cs-Ne borosilicate cells and highlight the significance of Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ coatings for buffer gas pressure stabilization.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_07144
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the reduction of gas permeation through the glass windows of micromachined vapor cells using Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ coatings
Carlé, Clément
Mursa, Andrei
Karvinen, Petri
Keshavarzi, Shervin
Hafiz, Moustafa Abdel
Maurice, Vincent
Boudot, Rodolphe
Passilly, Nicolas
Atomic Physics
Stability and precision of atomic devices are closely tied to the quality and stability of the internal atmosphere of the atomic vapor cells on which they rely. Such atmosphere can be stabilized by building the cell with low permeation materials such as sapphire, or aluminosilicate glass in microfabricated devices. Recently, we showed that permeation barriers made of Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ thin-film coatings deposited on standard borosilicate glass could be an alternative for buffer gas pressure stabilization. In this study, we hence investigate how helium permeation is influenced by the thickness, ranging from 5 to 40 nm, of such Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ thin-films coated by atomic layer deposition. Permeation rates are derived from long-term measurements of the pressure-shifted transition frequency of a coherent population trapping (CPT) atomic clock. From thicknesses of 20 nm onward, a significant enhancement of the cell hermeticity is experienced, corresponding to two orders of magnitude lower helium permeation rate. In addition, we test cesium vapor cells filled with neon as a buffer gas and whose windows are coated with 20 nm of Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$. As for helium, the permeation rate of neon is significantly reduced thanks to alumina coatings, leading to a fractional frequency stability of 4x10$^{-12}$ at 1 day when the cell is used in a CPT clock. These features outperform the typical performances of uncoated Cs-Ne borosilicate cells and highlight the significance of Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ coatings for buffer gas pressure stabilization.
title On the reduction of gas permeation through the glass windows of micromachined vapor cells using Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ coatings
topic Atomic Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.07144