We have developed an optical lattice clock that can operate in dual modes: a strontium (Sr) clock mode and an ytterbium (Yb) clock mode. Dual-mode operation of the Sr-Yb optical lattice clock is achieved by alternately cooling and trapping87Sr and171Yb atoms inside the vacuum chamber of the clock. Optical lattices for Sr and Yb atoms were arranged with horizontal and vertical configurations, respectively, resulting in a small distance of the order of 100 μm between the trapped Sr and Yb atoms. The1S0-3P0clock transitions in the trapped atoms were interrogated in turn and the clock lasers were stabilized to the transitions. We demonstrated the frequency ratio measurement of the Sr and Yb clock transitions by using the dual-mode operation of the Sr-Yb optical lattice clock. The dual-mode operation can reduce the uncertainty of the blackbody radiation shift in the frequency ratio measurement, because both Sr and Yb atoms share the same blackbody radiation.
We report high-precision frequency ratio measurements between optical atomic clocks based on
27Al
+,
171Yb, and
87Sr. With total fractional uncertainties at or below
3.2×10−18, these measurements meet an important milestone criterion for redefinition of the second in the International System of Units. Discrepancies in
87Sr ratios at approximately
1×10−16 and the Al
+/Yb ratio at
1.6×10−17 in fractional units compared to our previous measurements underscore the importance of repeated, high-precision comparisons by different laboratories. A key innovation in this work is the use of a common ultrastable reference delivered to all clocks via a 3.6 km phase-stabilized fiber link between two institutions. Derived from a cryogenic single-crystal silicon cavity, this reference improves comparison stability by a factor of 2 to 3 over previous systems, with an optical lattice clock ratio achieving a fractional instability of
1.3×10−16 at 1 second. By enabling faster comparisons, this stability will improve sensitivity to non-white noise processes and other underlying limits of state-of-the-art optical frequency standards.
We report high-precision frequency ratio measurements between optical atomic clocks based on ^{27}Al^{+}, ^{171}Yb, and ^{87}Sr. With total fractional uncertainties at or below 3.2×10^{-18}, these measurements meet an important milestone criterion for redefinition of the second in the International System of Units. Discrepancies in ^{87}Sr ratios at approximately 1×10^{-16} and the Al^{+}/Yb ratio at 1.6×10^{-17} in fractional units compared to our previous measurements underscore the importance of repeated, high-precision comparisons by different laboratories. A key upgrade from our previous work is the use of a common ultrastable reference delivered to all clocks via a 3.6-km phase-stabilized fiber link between two institutions, enabling better accuracy and stability in frequency transfer. Derived from a cryogenic single-crystal silicon cavity, this reference improves comparison stability by a factor of 2-3 over previous systems, with an optical lattice clock ratio achieving a fractional instability of 1.3×10^{-16} at 1 s. Identifying individual clock stabilities with a three-corner-hat measurement, we demonstrate the most stable optical lattice and trapped-ion clocks used in a multispecies comparison. By enabling faster comparisons, this stability will improve sensitivity to nonwhite noise processes and other underlying limits of state-of-the-art optical frequency standards.