Atomic Devices and Instrumentation Group

NIST on a Chip

Microfabricated Optically Pumped Magnetometers

Compact Cold Atom Instruments

Instruments based on spectroscopy of atoms in the vapor phase, such as atomic clocks, atomic wavelength references, atom interferometers and atomic magnetometers, currently achieve outstanding levels of precision and sensitivity. However, most of these instruments are too large and complex to be operated easily outside the laboratory. Our group designs, builds and tests highly miniaturized versions of these instruments using innovative application of techniques of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).

A recent review paper describes work worldwide on chip-scale atomic devices: J. Kitching, "Chip Scale Atomic Devices," Applied Physics Reviews, vol. 5, p. 031302, 2018.

News and Updates

A tiny chip encased in clear plastic sits on a piece of graph paper.

Spotlight: A Stability-Boosting Swap for Our Chip-Scale Clock

September 20, 2021

Stable is the chip-scale clock that uses a different laser, or so says the latest research from NIST physicists. Our scientists replaced an old infrared

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

Woman with reddish hair and wearing a pink sweater and laser safety glasses reaching over an instrument table and holding a card used to path of lasers.

NIST’s Compact Atomic Gyroscope Displays New Twists

July 11, 2019

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have upgraded their compact atomic gyroscope to enable multitasking measurement

Square gray cube with two square holes in it and a gold square in between the holes, and a dark brown coffee bean leaning against the cube.

NIST Team Demonstrates Heart of Next-Generation Chip-Scale Atomic Clock

May 17, 2019

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and partners have demonstrated an experimental, next-generation atomic clock—ticking at

Projects and Programs

Compact Cold Atom Instruments

Ongoing

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

Microfabricated Optically Pumped Magnetometers

Ongoing

We are developing microfabricated high-performance atomic magnetometers for magnetic anomaly detection, nuclear magnetic resonance and biomagnetics.

NIST-on-a-Chip in ADI

Ongoing

We are developing core technology tools to enable chip-scale standards that realize a broad range of base and derived SI units in compact, manufacturable

Publications

Inhomogenous Light Shifts of Coherent Population Trapping Resonances

April 13, 2022

Author(s)

Juniper Pollock, Valera Yudin, Alexey Taichenachev, Maxim Basalaev, D Kovalenko, Azure Hansen, John Kitching, William McGehee

Coherent population trapping (CPT) in atomic vapors using all-optical interrogation has enabled the miniaturization of microwave atomic clocks. Light shifts

Magneto-optical trapping using planar optics

January 29, 2021

Author(s)

William McGehee, Wenqi Zhu, Daniel Barker, Daron Westly, Alexander Yulaev, Nikolai Klimov, Amit Agrawal, Stephen Eckel, Vladimir Aksyuk, Jabez J. McClelland

Laser-cooled atoms are a key component of many calibration-free measurement platforms— including clocks, gyroscopes, and gravimeters—and are a promising

A chip-scale optical frequency reference for the telecommunication band based on acetylene

March 16, 2020

Author(s)

Roy Zektzer, Matthew T. Hummon, Liron Stern, Yefim Barash, Noa Mazurski, John Kitching, Levy Uriel

Lasers precisely stabilized to known transitions between energy levels in simple, well-isolated quantum systems such as atoms and molecules are highly desired

Atomic flux circuits

February 23, 2020

Author(s)

Douglas Bopp, Ellyse Taylor, Khoa Le, Susan Schima, Matthew Hummon, John Kitching

Atomic vapors are a crucial platform for precision metrology but in their simplest implementation, a thermal vapor, the intrinsic optical resonances are

Awards

2021 - Gold Medal Award---Matthew Hummon, John Kitching, Scott Papp, Scott Diddams, Kartik Srinivasan, Daron Westly, B. Robert Ilic

For their landmark development of the first chip-scale optical clock, supporting the most exacting needs of timing applications in the field.

Atomic Devices and Instrumentation Group

News and Updates

Spotlight: A Stability-Boosting Swap for Our Chip-Scale Clock

Bringing Atoms to a Standstill: NIST Miniaturizes Laser Cooling

NIST’s Compact Atomic Gyroscope Displays New Twists

NIST Team Demonstrates Heart of Next-Generation Chip-Scale Atomic Clock

Projects and Programs

Compact Cold Atom Instruments

Microfabricated Optically Pumped Magnetometers

NIST-on-a-Chip in ADI

Publications

Inhomogenous Light Shifts of Coherent Population Trapping Resonances

Magneto-optical trapping using planar optics

A chip-scale optical frequency reference for the telecommunication band based on acetylene

Atomic flux circuits

Awards

2021 - Gold Medal Award---Matthew Hummon, John Kitching, Scott Papp, Scott Diddams, Kartik Srinivasan, Daron Westly, B. Robert Ilic

2020 Paul F. Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award

John Kitching receives 2017 FLC Technology Transfer Award

Chip-Scale Sensor Invention with Vast Applications: Maximizing Transfer to Industry

POSTDOC AND STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES

Of Interest

Contacts

Group Leader

Project Leaders