Spherical Rubidium Vapor Cells Fabricated By Micro Glass Blowing

Published

January 21, 2007

Author(s)

E. J. Eklund, A Shkel, Svenja A. Knappe, Elizabeth A. Donley, John E. Kitching

Abstract

This paper presents an application of micro glass blowing, in which multiple glass spheres are simultaneously shaped on top of a silicon wafer and subsequently filled with rubidium. The fabrication process is based on etching cavities in silicon, followed by anodic bonding of a thin glass wafer to the etched silicon wafer. The bonded wafers are then heated inside a furnace at a temperature above the softening point of the glass, and due to expansion of the heated trapped gas in the cavities, the glass is blown into three-dimensional spherical cells. Microscopic alkali vapor cells are achieved by evaporation of ⁸⁷Rb through a small glass nozzle into the cell cavities. The cells are then sealed by anodic bonding. The results of the cell fabrication and characterization are presented.

Conference Location

Kobe, JA

Conference Title

20th IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

clock, glass blowing, magnetometer, MEMS, vapor cell

Citation

Eklund, E. , Shkel, A. , Knappe, S. , Donley, E. and Kitching, J. (2007), Spherical Rubidium Vapor Cells Fabricated By Micro Glass Blowing, 20th IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, Kobe, JA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=50478 (Accessed April 20, 2024)