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

High contrast signal in a coherent population trapping based atomic frequency standard application

M. Zhu

Published Jul 8, 2004• 27 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A polarization-selective method is developed for detecting a coherent-population-trapping (CPT) resonance signal in a vapor cell. The method uses a single laser beam with frequency modulation to induce CPT resonance and to control the AC Stark shift. The method provides a CPT resonance signal with a high contrast of 22%. Using this method, a CPT-based rubidium vapor cell frequency standard demonstrates a measured short-term stability of 1.4/spl times/10/sup -12//spl tau//sup - 1/2 /.

DOI
10.1109/freq.2003.1274978

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One of the important subjects in coherent-population- trapping-based (CPT-based) vapor cell frequency standards is the light shift (ac Stark shift). We calculate the light shift using a numerical method and perturbation approximation. Experimentally, we measure light shift using a pair of phase-locked diode lasers as well as a frequency-modulated diode laser. There is good agreement between theory and experiment. A method of controlling light shift in CPT-based frequency standards is proposed and implemented in Agilent Laboratories. The short-term stability of our CPT-based rubidium vapor cell frequency standard is measured as 1.3 x 10(-12) tau (-1/2), which is limited by the phase noise of the reference local oscillator used.

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•Apr 14, 2019•0 citations
A polarization-selective method is developed for detecting a coherent-population-trapping (CPT) resonance signal in a vapor cell. The method uses a single laser beam with frequency modulation to induce CPT resonance and to control the AC Stark shift. The method provides a CPT resonance signal with a high contrast of 22%. Using this method, a CPT-based rubidium vapor cell frequency standard demonstrates a measured short-term stability of 1.4/spl times/10/sup -12//spl tau//sup - 1/2 /.
One of the important subjects in coherent-population- trapping-based (CPT-based) vapor cell frequency standards is the light shift (ac Stark shift). We calculate the light shift using a numerical method and perturbation approximation. Experimentally, we measure light shift using a pair of phase-locked diode lasers as well as a frequency-modulated diode laser. There is good agreement between theory and experiment. A method of controlling light shift in CPT-based frequency standards is proposed and implemented in Agilent Laboratories. The short-term stability of our CPT-based rubidium vapor cell frequency standard is measured as 1.3 x 10(-12) tau (-1/2), which is limited by the phase noise of the reference local oscillator used.
We present a new polarization-selective detection scheme that enables simultaneous dual-frequency laser stabilization and implementation of high-contrast coherent population trapping (CPT) resonance. The proposed configuration splits elliptically polarized light into two optical paths after atomic interaction. The component reflected from the polarizing beam splitter, containing Doppler-broadened spectral features, is employed for precise laser frequency locking. The reflected signal exhibits a frequency discrimination slope nine times steeper than that of the transmitted polarizing beam splitter component. Simultaneously, the transmitted component isolates the CPT resonance signals from the positive and negative first-order sidebands for microwave frequency stabilization. Experiment demonstrates excellent agreement with theoretical simulations derived from the Liouville equation. Compared with conventional circular polarization methods, this approach achieves a fourfold enhancement in short-term frequency stability. These advancements make the technique particularly promising for developing compact CPT atomic clocks with improved metrological performance.
This article reports on the characterization of a compact coherent-population-trapping (CPT) Cs vapor cell atomic clock using the push-pull optical pumping technique. This method allows to detect high-contrast CPT resonances on the 0-0 magnetic-field insensitive clock transition. The clock short-term fractional frequency stability is measured to be 3×10−13 τ−1/2 up to 100 s averaging time, in correct agreement with the signal-to-noise ratio limit. These results are among the best performances ever reported for a CPT-based clock. The noise budget is detailed. A preliminary study is reported to evaluate limitations to the clock mid-term frequency stability. The clock performances are found to be presently mainly limited in the mid-term by laser power effects.
This article reports on the development and short-term fractional frequency stability of a continuous-regime (CW) Cs vapor cell atomic clock based on coherent population trapping (CPT). The push-pull optical pumping technique is used to increase the number of atoms that participate to the clock transition, yielding a typical CPT resonance contrast of 25% for a CPT linewidth of about 450 Hz. The clock short-term fractional frequency stability is measured to be 3 x 10 -13 τ -1/2 up to 100 seconds averaging time, in correct agreement with the signal-to-noise ratio limit. The mid-term frequency stability results are currently mainly limited by laser power effects. The detection of high-contrast narrow Raman-Ramsey fringes is demonstrated with this setup by making the atoms interact with a light pulse sequence.
We present a microwave frequency standard based on coherent population trapping (CPT) in the 87Rb D1 line. The CPT spectrum is obtained using two Raman lasers with a 6.8 GHz frequency offset by injection locking of a master laser to a slave laser. We have constructed an atomic clock employing a 5 cm long Rb vapor cell confined with 6.67 kPa neon buffer gas at 70 °C. Using this system, we improve the CPT contrast through the elimination of undesired off-resonant fields created by the direct modulation method. We measured the frequency shift of the CPT signal as a function of the temperature of the Rb cell and estimated it to be approximately 1.3 ×10−9/K. The frequency of a 10 MHz crystal oscillator has been stabilized to the CPT spectrum between the two ground states in 87Rb. The relative frequency stability is approximately 2.3×10−12 for an average time of 68 s.
We demonstrate a vapor-cell atomic-clock prototype based on a continuous-wave interrogation and double-modulation coherent population trapping (DM-CPT) technique. The DM-CPT technique uses a synchronous modulation of polarization and the relative phase of a bichromatic laser beam in order to increase the number of atoms trapped in a dark state, i.e., a nonabsorbing state. The narrow resonance, observed in the transmission of a Cs vapor cell, is used as a narrow frequency discriminator in an atomic clock. A detailed characterization of the CPT resonance versus numerous parameters is reported. A short-term fractional-frequency stability of 3.2×10−13τ−1/2 up to a 100-s averaging time is measured. These performances are more than one order of magnitude better than industrial Rb clocks and are comparable to those of the best laboratory-prototype vapor-cell clocks. The noise-budget analysis shows that the short- and midterm frequency stability is mainly limited by the power fluctuations of the microwave used to generate the bichromatic laser. These preliminary results demonstrate that the DM-CPT technique is well suited for the development of a high-performance atomic clock, with the potential compact and robust setup due to its linear architecture. This clock could find future applications in industry, telecommunications, instrumentation, or global navigation satellite systems.