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Joint Conference of the European Frequency and Time Forum and IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (EFTF/IFCS)

DFB laser diode pumped Rubidium atomic frequency standard

Jiayao Huang, Y. Gu, X. H. Qi, Y. H. Wang, S. Q. Liu, Taige Dong, Jie Zhang, Zhipeng Lü

Published May 1, 2011• 0 citations

Abstract

We present our recently experimental results on a DFB laser diode pumped Rubidium atomic frequency standard. Our experiment was based on a homemade lamp-pumped Rubidium frequency standard with the discharge lamp assembly removed. In the experiment, we first locked a DFB laser diode to the87Rb cycling transition (5S1/2, F=2→5P3/2, F=3) by means of saturation absorption locking technique. After that, we optimized the parameters carefully related to the clock performance, such as temperature of the physical package, amplitude of the modulation signal for the laser locking. The preliminary short-term stability of our clock is measured 5.25×10−12τ−1/2(1s<τ<100s).

DOI: 10.1109/fcs.2011.5977300

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We present our recently experimental results on a DFB laser diode pumped Rubidium atomic frequency standard. Our experiment was based on a homemade lamp-pumped Rubidium frequency standard with the discharge lamp assembly removed. In the experiment, we first locked a DFB laser diode to the87Rb cycling transition (5S1/2, F=2→5P3/2, F=3) by means of saturation absorption locking technique. After that, we optimized the parameters carefully related to the clock performance, such as temperature of the physical package, amplitude of the modulation signal for the laser locking. The preliminary short-term stability of our clock is measured 5.25×10−12τ−1/2(1s<τ<100s).

Recently, there has been considerable interest in the use of single-mode diode lasers in atomic frequency standards. In the present paper theoretical calculations are performed in order to quantify the expected performance improvement upon incorporation of diode lasers in rubidium gas cell atomic frequency standards. We assume that clock signal shot noise, the diode laser’s quantum noise, and diode laser frequency locking noise all contribute to the atomic frequency standard’s stability. Our results indicate that white-noise Allan variances of ∼6×10−15/(τ)1/2 are possible if enhanced cavity Q diode lasers are employed, whereas for presently available commercial diode lasers we predict white-noise Allan variances of ∼3×10−14/(τ)1/2. These variances represent a 2–3 orders of magnitude improvement in frequency stability over that currently obtained with rubidium gas cell atomic clocks.

The paper presents the realisation of a high-performance vapour-cell atomic frequency standard demonstrator based on laser optical pumping. The development of such devices aims to fully exploit the advantages of using a narrow-band diode laser pump light source instead of the discharge lamps commonly used in Rb gas-cell clocks. These advantages include improved control over the pump light spectrum, higher selectivity of the optical pumping, and increased signal contrast, and thus show the potential for the realisation of Rb atomic clocks with improved short-term frequency stability.

This paper studies a miniature low power consumption laser-pumped atom vapour cell clock scheme. Pumping 87 Rb with a vertical cavity surface emitting laser diode pump and locking the laser frequency on a Doppler-broadened spectral line, it records a 5 × 10 −11 τ −1/2 (τ < 500 s) frequency stability with a table-top system in a primary experiment. The study reveals that the evaluated scheme is at the level of 2.7 watts power consumption, 90 cm 3 volume and 10 −12 τ −1/2 short-term frequency stability.

A rubidium-beam microwave clock, optically pumped by a distributed feedback diode laser, is experimentally investigated. The clock is composed of a physical package, optical systems, and electric servo loops. The physical package realizes the microwave interrogation of a rubidium-atomic beam. The optical systems, equipped with two 780-nm distributed feedback laser diodes, yield light for pumping and detecting. The servo loops control the frequency of a local oscillator with respect to the microwave spectrum. With the experimental systems, the microwave spectrum, which has an amplitude of 4 nA and a line width of 700 Hz, is obtained. Preliminary tests show that the clock short-term frequency stability is 7 × 10 −11 at 1 s, and 3 × 10 −12 at 1000 s. These experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of the scheme for a manufactured clock.