Time and Frequency Division

NIST-on-a-Chip in ADI

NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock

Yb Lattice Clock

News and Updates

Illustration shows two buildings labeled "NIST" and "JILA" facing each other with mountains in the background.

NIST Team Compares 3 Top Atomic Clocks With Record Accuracy Over Both Fiber and Air

March 24, 2021

In a significant advance toward the future redefinition of the international unit of time, the second, a research team led by the National Institute of

Bringing Atoms to a Standstill: NIST Miniaturizes Laser Cooling

January 21, 2021

It’s cool to be small. Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have miniaturized the optical components required to cool atoms

A rectangular chip features a brass-colored bow-tie shape on black background.

Spotlight: New Ion Trap With Single-Photon Detector

January 9, 2021

Putting a bow tie on quantum information processing, NIST researchers have a new ion trap with a component that could be key to streamlining the construction of

Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure: NIST Releases Draft Cybersecurity Guidance, Develops GPS-Free Backup for Timing Systems

October 23, 2020

Taking another step toward strengthening the nation’s critical infrastructure, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has drafted guidelines

Industry Impacts

Close up of the NIST chip-scale atomic clock

Navigation through Timekeeping

Accurate navigation requires precision timing synchronization to about 1 billionth of a second per day. New applications require timing mechanisms that can

Projects and Programs

Compact Cold Atom Instruments

The cooling of atoms to microkelvin temperatures using lasers is currently enabling a new generation of precision instruments that take advantage of the long

Optical and Microwave Waveform Synthesis

We use femtosecond-laser frequency combs to generate optical and microwave waveforms with unprecedented noise performance.

Microresonator Device Research

With micro-resonators (fabricated in house or by collaborators) we are developing microcombs, integrated reference cavities and low-noise laser sources. The

Femtosecond-Laser Frequency Combs for Optical Clocks

We develop self-referenced mode-locked femtosecond lasers that function as the "gears" of optical clocks. The femtosecond laser clockwork is capable of phase

Awards

2021 EFTF Young Scientist Award - David Leibrandt

For exceptional scientific creativity and achievement in designing and implementing state-of-the-art trapped-ion optical clocks with the

Distinguished PTTI Service Award - Michael A. Lombardi

Mr. Lombardi was recognized for system development and leadership in the successful delivery of the U.S. time and frequency standards

2020 Distinguished Associate Award - Jenny Wu

For the first demonstration of quantum gate teleportation with trapped ions, showcasing a crucial step toward large-scale quantum

2020 Distinguished Associate Award - David Wineland

For the first demonstration of quantum gate teleportation with trapped ions, showcasing a crucial step toward large-scale quantum

Patents

Optical Reference Cavity

NIST Inventors

Franklyn Quinlan, Scott Diddams and Andrew Ludlow

Patent Description We have demonstrated an easy-to-manufacture 25-mm-long ultra-stable optical reference cavity geared toward transportable photonic microwave generation systems and mobile optical atomic clock applications. The cavity can be rigidly held in a way that is first-order insensitive to