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Frontiers in Optics

Compact Platforms for Cold-Atom Clocks

Erling Riis, Paul F. Griffin, Aidan S. Arnold, J. P. McGilligan

Published Jan 1, 2024• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We examine solutions for miniaturizing atomic clocks for performance at the 10^-15 level. Microwave and optical interrogation of a rubidium microwave clock are highlighted. MEMS and additively manufactured vacuum and spectroscopy cells will be presented. Full-text article not available; see video presentation
DOI
10.1364/ls.2024.fm1a.1

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In this talk, I will outline two stands of our ongoing atomic clock research at the University of Strathclyde, aimed at achieving short-term stabilities surpassing 1e-12 in portable systems. Firstly, I present a cold-atom microwave clock that integrates a grating-MOT within an additively manufactured microwave cavity, enabling a compact and potentially highly stable portable system. The work examines noise minimisation techniques through direct comparison with a cold-atom coherent population trapping (CPT) clock. I will also discuss progress on two-photon rubidium clocks based on MEMS vapour cells with integrated optics. The results highlight their prospects for resilient PNT applications and scalable deployment.
Vapor-cell devices based on microwave interrogation provide a stable frequency reference with a compact and robust setup. Further miniaturization must focus on optimizing the physics package, containing the microwave cavity and atomic reservoir. In this article, we present a compact cavity-cell assembly based on a dielectric-loaded cylindrical resonator. The loaded cavity resonating at 6.83 GHz has an external volume of only 35 cm3and accommodates a vapor cell with 0.9-cm3inner volume. The proposed design aims at strongly reducing the core of the atomic clock, maintaining, at the same time, high-performing short-term stability (σy(τ)≤5×10−13 τ−1/2\sigma _{y}{(}\tau {)} \leq {5}\times {10}^{-{13}} \,\tau ^{-{1}/{2}}σy​(τ)≤5×10−13τ−1/2 standard Allan deviation). The proposed structure is characterized in terms of microwave field uniformity and atom-field coupling with the aid of finite-element calculations. The thermal sensitivity is also analyzed and experimentally characterized. We present preliminary spectroscopy results by integrating the compact cavity within a rubidium clock setup based on the pulsed optically pumping technique. The obtained clock signals are compatible with the targeted performances. The loaded-cavity approach is, thus, a viable design option for miniaturized microwave clocks.