Systems and methods for coherent splitting of a matter wave for supporting a variety of applications and fundamental studies in the fields of matter wave momentum splitting and interferometry. The systems and methods utilize pulsed field gradients and Rabi transitions between internal energy states. A matter wave is transformed into a superposition of spatially separated propagating wavepackets and spatial interference fringes with measurable phase repeatability were measured as a proof for the coherence of the splitting. A continuously tunable wide range of momentum difference between wavepackets may be received by controlling only the duration and strength of the pulsed gradients. Achieving high phase stability and various splitting schemes using different geometries, fields and energy levels, as well as various interferometric applications are disclosed.