On April 27 and 29, 2021, the partners of the CRYST3 project met by videoconference for the project launch.

CRYST3 aims to develop a new fully-fiber prototype, based on the trapping and cooling of cold atoms in a hollow-core fiber, and provides a platform for emerging experiments on self-ordering, atom cooling, and superradiance.

The growing importance of artificial intelligence in society demands precise, lightweight, and robust sensors. Among the best laboratory sensors - in the broad sense including clocks, accelerometers, gyroscopes ... - those based on individual atoms stand out for their phenomenal stability and accuracy, but most are bulky and fragile, and almost all are expensive.

Funded by the European Union, the collaborative CRYST3 project brings together a variety of partners who will have 4 years to create a prototype to encapsulate individual alkaline atoms:

• Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna (IT)
• University of Limoges (FR)
• Institute of Theoretical and Applied Optics IOTA – SUPOPTIQUE (FR)
• ALPhANOV Technology center (FR)
• GLOphotonics (FR)
• Universität Innsbruck (AT)
• WIGNER Fizikai Kutatóközpont (HU)U
• Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia - UNIMORE (IT)

This new prototype will be the first device, fully operational and customized, comprising a digital design, manufacturing, post-processing and testing up until industrial evaluation by a leading photonics company.

The meeting, which took place on April 27 and 29, 2021, was an opportunity to officially launch the project and to establish the various issues and present the actions already underway.

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