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Soviet Journal of Quantum Electronics

Current status and development prospects of quantum frequency standards (review)

Anatoly S. Bashkin

Published May 31, 1972• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

The current status of quantum frequency standards is considered. A systematic comparison is made of the results achieved so far. The advantages and disadvantages of the principal types of microwave and optical quantum frequency standards are discussed. An analysis is given of the prospects of further progress which might result from improvements in the existing devices or from the development of new ones.

DOI
10.1070/qe1972v001n05abeh003245

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The current status of quantum frequency standards is considered. A systematic comparison is made of the results achieved so far. The advantages and disadvantages of the principal types of microwave and optical quantum frequency standards are discussed. An analysis is given of the prospects of further progress which might result from improvements in the existing devices or from the development of new ones.
The stability and accuracy of atomic microwave frequency standards (atomic clocks) have been improving at a rate exceeding one order of magnitude per decade for the past 30 years. This sustained improvement has been driven mainly by the many and diverse technological applications requiring highly stable and accurate time and frequency standards. There is no reason to suspect that this rate of progress is slowing. Over the last decade, research and development in atomic frequency standards has tended increasingly towards the use of atom and ion trapping technologies to approach the supposedly ideal unperturbed atomic frequency reference consisting of a single atom or ion either motionless or in free-fall in a perfect, field-free vacuum. This work has been facilitated by the relatively recent development of techniques whereby laser light is used to cool, confine and manipulate atoms or ions. This paper reviews the current status of atomic microwave frequency standards based on trapped atoms and trapped ions, and attempts to explain the motivation for their development and the principles of their operation, with particular emphasis on the physics of factors which limit their performance.
Photons at microwave and optical frequencies are principal carriers for quantum information. While microwave photons can be effectively controlled at the local circuit level, optical photons can propagate over long distances. High-fidelity conversion between microwave and optical photons will allow the distribution of quantum states across different quantum technology nodes and enhance the scalability of hybrid quantum systems toward a future “Quantum Internet.” Despite a frequency difference of five orders of magnitude, there has been significant progress recently toward the transfer between microwave and optical photons with steadily improved efficiency in a coherent and bidirectional manner. In this review, we summarize this progress, emphasizing integrated device approaches, and provide a perspective for device implementation that enables quantum state transfer and entanglement distribution across microwave and optical domains.
Humanity’s social, economic, and technological progress could not have been made without communications infrastructure. The need to attain the sophistication of long-distance communication has grown steadily since the dawn of civilization. The modern global communications system is the single greatest infrastructural project in human history. The global telecommunications grid which uses satellites, deep-sea fiber-optic systems, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, microwave and other radio, and optical-frequency communications networks are tremendous in coverage, unparalleled in connection, and ubiquitous in application. As we approach the middle of the 21st century, this system’s next major update will incorporate quantum communications technology. Quantum communication, in tandem with quantum computing and quantum sensing, constitutes one of the three pillars of second-generation quantum technology and promises an array of novel applications. Considering the reliable transmission of quantum information often requires the transport of individual particles of light photons through a world inundated by trillions upon trillions of photons, quantum communication systems are an engineering marvel. To provide a technological alternative for existing public-key encryption protocols, which are now susceptible to the threat posed by future quantum computing systems, nascent commercial quantum communication networks aim to realize the potential for cryptographic security provided by the laws of quantum mechanics. However, a number of obstacles must be overcome before quantum communications can be widely adopted. This study focuses on the current state of quantum communication, the promise of its prospects in the near and far future, the obstacles it faces, and the breakthroughs and applications developed by the United Arab Emirates.
The programmable quantum voltage standard (PJVS) is a type of quantum voltage standard capable of generating AC waveforms accurately. This paper systematically summarizes the research progress of PJVS. The basic principles of PJVS are elaborated, focusing on the sources of transient errors and methods for error suppression. The development history of PJVS chips is reviewed, the fabrication of low-temperature superconducting Josephson junction arrays, the core characteristics of PJVS chips, and the research progress of PJVS chips at home and abroad are briefly summarized. The main application of PJVS are sorted out and summarized, the setup, key indicators, and practical application scenarios of quantum voltmeters, impedance bridges, and quantum current measurements are specifically analyzed. This paper also deeply explores the differential sampling method of PJVS and comparatively analyzes the two technical routes of differential sampling and subsampling. It conducts a comparative study on the two-terminal and four-terminal impedance bridges based on PJVS and summarizes their application status in various countries. It analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of current standards based on PJVS and single-electron tunneling schemes, and introduces the programmable quantum current standard based on Ohm’s law. Finally, this paper prospects the future development trend of PJVS from two dimensions of the breakthrough of core underlying chip technologies and the optimization of system integration.