Ramsey interferometry

Ramsey interferometry, also known as the separated oscillating fields method,^[1] is a form of particle interferometry that uses the phenomenon of magnetic resonance to measure transition frequencies of particles. It was developed in 1949 by Norman Ramsey,^[2] who built upon the ideas of his mentor, Isidor Isaac Rabi, who initially developed a technique for measuring particle transition frequencies. Ramsey's method is used today in atomic clocks and in the SI definition of the second. Most precision atomic measurements, such as modern atom interferometers and quantum logic gates, have a Ramsey-type configuration.^[3] A more modern method, known as Ramsey–Bordé interferometry uses a Ramsey configuration and was developed by French physicist Christian Bordé and is known as the Ramsey–Bordé interferometer. Bordé's main idea was to use atomic recoil to create a beam splitter of different geometries for an atom-wave. The Ramsey–Bordé interferometer specifically uses two pairs of counter-propagating interaction waves, and another method named the "photon-echo" uses two co-propagating pairs of interaction waves.^[4][5]