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

A strontium optical lattice clock apparatus for precise frequency metrology and beyond

Marco G. Tarallo, Davide Calonico, Filippo Levi, Matteo Barbiero, Giacomo Lamporesi, Gabriele Ferrari

Published Jul 1, 2017• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present the advancement toward the realization of a new optical clock apparatus based on ultracold strontium atoms. The atomic source employs a novel design based on two dimensional magneto optical trapping which is advantageous because of the suppression of thermal atoms in the interrogation volume, and the elimination of hot BBR in the view of the science cell. Compact frequency stabilization of cooling and trapping lasers is achieved via single PDH lock to a three-color ultrastable optical resonator. We also study different lattice topologies to operate the ultracold atomic ensemble in the high-cooperativity regime toward sub-quantum projection noise instability and millihertz-linewidth frequency stabilization by cavity QED.

DOI
10.1109/fcs.2017.8089020

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We present the advancement toward the realization of a new optical clock apparatus based on ultracold strontium atoms. The atomic source employs a novel design based on two dimensional magneto optical trapping which is advantageous because of the suppression of thermal atoms in the interrogation volume, and the elimination of hot BBR in the view of the science cell. Compact frequency stabilization of cooling and trapping lasers is achieved via single PDH lock to a three-color ultrastable optical resonator. We also study different lattice topologies to operate the ultracold atomic ensemble in the high-cooperativity regime toward sub-quantum projection noise instability and millihertz-linewidth frequency stabilization by cavity QED.
We report on the realization of a new compact strontium optical clock using a 2-D magneto-optical-trap (2D-MOT) as cold atomic source and a multi-wavelength cavity as the frequency stabilization system. All needed optical frequencies are stabilized to a zero-thermal expansion high-finesse optical resonator and can be operated without frequency adjustments for weeks. We present the complete characterization of the apparatus. Optical control of the atomic source allows us to perform low-noise clock operation without atomic signal normalization. Long- and short-term stability tests of the clock have been performed for the88Sr bosonic isotope by means of interleaved clock operation. Finally, we present the first preliminary accuracy budget of the system.
Optical atomic clocks with precisions and accuracies in the 10−^-−1^118^88 level [1] are now the most advanced man-made timekeeping devices. They outperform the microwave cesium atomic clocks that realize the SI definition of the second. Scaling down the size of optical atomic clocks may open the door to a range of industrial and space applications. In this thesis, the design and preliminary results of a compact strontium cooling system are presented. In the first cooling stage, the high power 461 nm laser with 300 mW output features a modular design, while smaller laser sources for demonstrating a strontium magneto-optical trap have also been investigated. An innovative design that couples a spectroscopy cell directly into the scientific chamber reduces the overall size and power consumption of the system. Additionally, using strontium oxide as a source of strontium atoms suitable for optical clocks has achieved initial success. For the first time, a single-beam MOT configuration is applied to strontium. In this novel apparatus, the blue MOT and red MOT broadband cooling phases are able to trap 5x106^66 and 1000 atoms, respectively. This work shows promising progress towards developing a functional miniaturized strontium optical lattice clock.
Abstract We report on a transportable optical clock, based on laser-cooled strontium atoms trapped in an optical lattice. The experimental apparatus is composed of a compact source of ultra-cold strontium atoms including a compact cooling laser setup and a transportable ultra-stable laser for interrogating the optical clock transition. The whole setup (excluding electronics) fits within a volume of \\2 m3. The high degree of operation reliability of both systems allowed the spectroscopy of the clock transition to be performed with 10 Hz resolution. We estimate a relative uncertainty of the clock of 7 9 10-15. 1
Optical atomic clocks have proven to be the most stable clocks with the lowest systematic uncertainty which has now reached a record level of (9.4 X10/(^{19}/)). Thus optical clocks now surpass the best fountain Cs atomic clocks by three orders of magnitude which opens the prospect of using optical clocks as frequency standards for timekeeping in the near future. \n \nThis thesis describes the progress that has been made towards a stationary optical lattice clock based on strontium atoms, and reports the results of an ongoing characterization. \n \nAn experimental apparatus was designed and built to efficiently slow, cool, and trap the strontium atoms which represent the heart of the strontium optical lattice clock discussed in this thesis. The novel aspects of the experimental development described in the thesis comprise a frequency doubling cavity for producing 461 nm laser light employed for cooling and trapping the strontium atoms in the first stage cooling. This cavity provided sufficient power for cooling and trapping the strontium atoms for up to 300 mW of 461 nm laser light. Furthermore, a new design of Zeeman slower based on spherical permanent magnets was produced, built and characterized. \n \nThe slower is compact, tunable, easy to assemble and maintain, and cost-effective as the permanent magnets do not require any power supply or water cooling. It is suggested that this kind of Zeeman slower constitutes an ideal solution for portable optical clock systems. A blue magneto-optical trap was realized for the first time with such a Zeeman slower. With about 30 mW of a 461 nm laser, up to 6X10/(^8/) atoms were captured.
We report on our progress toward the realization of a compact optical frequency standard referenced to strontium intercombination lines. Our current setup allows the production of ultracold Sr atoms in hundreds of ms. For high resolution spectroscopy of the 1S0-3P0 doubly forbidden transition we have prepared a 698 nm clock laser stabilized on a high finesse, symmetrically suspended cavity and a high power 813 nm light source for the optical lattice trap at the magic wavelength. Due to their compactness, reliability, and low power consumption, semiconductor laser sources represent the best choice for the development of compact and transportable devices for application both on Earth and in Space. A new Sr trapping and cooling experimental setup is also presented.
We report on our progress toward the realization of an optical frequency standard referenced to strontium intercombination lines. Our current setup allows the production of ultracold Sr atoms in hundreds of ms. For high resolution spectroscopy of1S0-3P0doubly forbidden transition we have also prepared a 698 nm clock laser stabilized on high finesse symmetrically suspended cavity and a high power 813 nm light source for the optical lattice trap at the magic wavelength. All the laser source employed are based on semiconductor device. This opens the way to the realization of compact, reliable and eventually transportable optical frequency standards.