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Ultra-stable Hg(+) trapped ion frequency standard

John D. Prestage, G.J. Dick, Lute Maleki

Published May 1, 1990• 2 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We are developing afieldable trapped ion frequency standard based on 99 H~ ~ ions confined in a hybrid rfldc linear ion trap. Thk trap permits storu & of large numbers of ions with reduced susceptibility to the second-or&r Doppler eflect caused by the if confiningjields. In preliminary measurements we huve obtained a stability oJ 2-3. 10- for 10,000 second averaging times. These rnea~urements were carried out with a 120 mHz wide atomic resonance line for the 40.5 GHz clock transition with a second order Doppler shift from the iftrappingfield of 6 1 0- l ~.

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Ultra-stable Hg+

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We report the development of a fieldable frequency standard based on 199Hg+ ions confined in a hybrid r.f./dc linear ion trap. This trap permits storage of large numbers of ions with reduced susceptibility to the second-order Doppler effect caused by the r.f. confining fields. A 160 mHz wide atomic resonance line for the 40·5 GHz clock transition is used to steer the output of a 5 MHz crystal oscillator to obtain a stability of 2 × 10−15 for 24 000 s averaging times. For longer averaging intervals, measurements are limited by instabilities in available hydrogen maser frequency standards. Measurements with 37 mHz linewidth for the Hg+ clock transition demonstrate that the inherent stability for this frequency standard is at least as good as 1 × 10−15.

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A high-performance frequency standard based on (199)Hg(+) ions confined in a hybrid radio frequency (RF)/dc linear ion trap is demonstrated. This trap permits storage of large numbers of ions with reduced susceptibility to the second-order Doppler effect caused by the RF confining fields. A 160-mHz-wide atomic resonance line for the 40.5-GHz clock transition is used to steer the output of a 5-mHz crystal oscillator to obtain a stability of 2 x 10(exp -15) for 24,000-second averaging times. Measurements with a 37-mHz line width for the Hg(+) clock transition demonstrate that the inherent stability for this frequency standard is better than 1 x 10(exp -15) at 10,000-second averaging times.

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The authors report the development of a fieldable frequency standard based on /sup 199/Hg/sup +/ ions confined in a hybrid RF/DC linear ion trap. This trap permits storage of large numbers of ions with reduced susceptibility to the second-order Doppler effect caused by the RF confining fields. A 160-mHz-wide atomic resonance line for the 40.5-GHz clock transition is used to steer the output of a 5-MHz crystal oscillator to obtain a stability of 2*10/sup -15/ for 24000 second averaging times. For long averaging intervals measurements are limited by instabilities in available hydrogen maser frequency standards.>

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The frequency stability obtained with an ion-trap-based frequency standard where /sup 199/Hg/sup +/ ions are confined in a hybrid RF/DC linear trap is described. The 40.5-GHz clock transition is measured to be as narrow as 17 mHz representing a quality factor of 2.4*10/sup 12/. A hydrogen maser interrogation of a 37-mHz Hg/sup +/ resonance is used to measure 1*10/sup -15/ stability of the ion resonance at 10000-s averaging time. In another measurement the frequency of the superconducting cavity maser oscillator is steered to follow the Hg/sup +/ clock transition, again providing frequency stability of 1*10/sup -15/ at 10000-s.>

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John D. Prestage, Robert L. Tjoelker, R.T. Wang +2 more

The frequency stability of an atomic standard based on /sup 199/Hg/sup +/ ions confined in a hybrid RF/DC linear trap is described. The 40.5-GHz clock transition has been measured to be 17 mHz wide, representing a quality factor greater than 2*10/sup 12/. A 160-mHz line is used to steer the output of a 5-MHz crystal oscillator to obtain a stability of 2*10/sup -15/ for 24000-s averaging times. In a separate measurement, a 37-mHz line is used to steer the output of the superconducting cavity maser oscillator to reach 1*10/sup -15/ stability at 10000 s.>

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High-accuracy frequency standards using laser-cooled Hg+ ions

Dana J. Berkeland, J.D. Miller, Brent C. Young +3 more

We discuss frequency standards based on laser-cooled 199Hg+ ions confined in cryogenic rf traps. In one experiment, the frequency of a microwave source is served to the ions' ground-state hyperfine transition at 40.5 GHz. For seven ions and a Ramsey free precession time of 100 s, the fractional frequency stability is 3.3 (2) X 10-13 (tau) -1/2 for measurement times (tau) < 2 h. The ground-state hyperfine interval is measured to be 40 507 347 996.841 59 (14) (41) Hz, where the first number in parentheses is the uncertainty due to statistics and systematic errors, and the second is the uncertainty in the frequency of the time scale to which the standard is compared. In a second experiment under development, a strong-binding cryogenic trap will confine a single ion used for an optical frequency standard based on a narrow electric quadrupole transition at 282 nm. The bandwidth of the laser used to drive this transition is less than 10 Hz at 563 nm.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•May 15, 1998•1 citation
We are developing afieldable trapped ion frequency standard based on 99 H~ ~ ions confined in a hybrid rfldc linear ion trap. Thk trap permits storu & of large numbers of ions with reduced susceptibility to the second-or&r Doppler eflect caused by the if confiningjields. In preliminary measurements we huve obtained a stability oJ 2-3. 10- for 10,000 second averaging times. These rnea~urements were carried out with a 120 mHz wide atomic resonance line for the 40.5 GHz clock transition with a second order Doppler shift from the iftrappingfield of 6 1 0- l ~.
We report the development of a fieldable frequency standard based on 199Hg+ ions confined in a hybrid r.f./dc linear ion trap. This trap permits storage of large numbers of ions with reduced susceptibility to the second-order Doppler effect caused by the r.f. confining fields. A 160 mHz wide atomic resonance line for the 40·5 GHz clock transition is used to steer the output of a 5 MHz crystal oscillator to obtain a stability of 2 × 10−15 for 24 000 s averaging times. For longer averaging intervals, measurements are limited by instabilities in available hydrogen maser frequency standards. Measurements with 37 mHz linewidth for the Hg+ clock transition demonstrate that the inherent stability for this frequency standard is at least as good as 1 × 10−15.
A high-performance frequency standard based on (199)Hg(+) ions confined in a hybrid radio frequency (RF)/dc linear ion trap is demonstrated. This trap permits storage of large numbers of ions with reduced susceptibility to the second-order Doppler effect caused by the RF confining fields. A 160-mHz-wide atomic resonance line for the 40.5-GHz clock transition is used to steer the output of a 5-mHz crystal oscillator to obtain a stability of 2 x 10(exp -15) for 24,000-second averaging times. Measurements with a 37-mHz line width for the Hg(+) clock transition demonstrate that the inherent stability for this frequency standard is better than 1 x 10(exp -15) at 10,000-second averaging times.
The authors report the development of a fieldable frequency standard based on /sup 199/Hg/sup +/ ions confined in a hybrid RF/DC linear ion trap. This trap permits storage of large numbers of ions with reduced susceptibility to the second-order Doppler effect caused by the RF confining fields. A 160-mHz-wide atomic resonance line for the 40.5-GHz clock transition is used to steer the output of a 5-MHz crystal oscillator to obtain a stability of 2*10/sup -15/ for 24000 second averaging times. For long averaging intervals measurements are limited by instabilities in available hydrogen maser frequency standards.>
The frequency stability obtained with an ion-trap-based frequency standard where /sup 199/Hg/sup +/ ions are confined in a hybrid RF/DC linear trap is described. The 40.5-GHz clock transition is measured to be as narrow as 17 mHz representing a quality factor of 2.4*10/sup 12/. A hydrogen maser interrogation of a 37-mHz Hg/sup +/ resonance is used to measure 1*10/sup -15/ stability of the ion resonance at 10000-s averaging time. In another measurement the frequency of the superconducting cavity maser oscillator is steered to follow the Hg/sup +/ clock transition, again providing frequency stability of 1*10/sup -15/ at 10000-s.>
The frequency stability of an atomic standard based on /sup 199/Hg/sup +/ ions confined in a hybrid RF/DC linear trap is described. The 40.5-GHz clock transition has been measured to be 17 mHz wide, representing a quality factor greater than 2*10/sup 12/. A 160-mHz line is used to steer the output of a 5-MHz crystal oscillator to obtain a stability of 2*10/sup -15/ for 24000-s averaging times. In a separate measurement, a 37-mHz line is used to steer the output of the superconducting cavity maser oscillator to reach 1*10/sup -15/ stability at 10000 s.>
We discuss frequency standards based on laser-cooled 199Hg+ ions confined in cryogenic rf traps. In one experiment, the frequency of a microwave source is served to the ions' ground-state hyperfine transition at 40.5 GHz. For seven ions and a Ramsey free precession time of 100 s, the fractional frequency stability is 3.3 (2) X 10-13 (tau) -1/2 for measurement times (tau) < 2 h. The ground-state hyperfine interval is measured to be 40 507 347 996.841 59 (14) (41) Hz, where the first number in parentheses is the uncertainty due to statistics and systematic errors, and the second is the uncertainty in the frequency of the time scale to which the standard is compared. In a second experiment under development, a strong-binding cryogenic trap will confine a single ion used for an optical frequency standard based on a narrow electric quadrupole transition at 282 nm. The bandwidth of the laser used to drive this transition is less than 10 Hz at 563 nm.