Long-Term Frequency Instability of CPT Clocks With Microfabricated Vapor Cells

Published

April 1, 2006

Author(s)

Vladislav Gerginov, Svenja A. Knappe, P Schwindt, V Shah, Leo W. Hollberg, John E. Kitching

Abstract

We present an evaluation of the long-term frequency instability and environmental sensitivity of a chip-scale atomic clock based on coherent population trapping, particularly as affected by the light source subassembly. We find that the clock frequency is influenced by the laser injection current, laser temperature and RF modulation index. The sensitivity of the clock frequency to laser injection current or temperature changes can be significantly reduced by adjusting the RF modulation index. This makes the requirements imposed on the laser temperature stabilization less severe. The clock frequency instability due to local oscillator power variations is shown to be reduced through the choice of an appropriate light intensity inside the cell. The importance of these parameters with regard to the long-term stability of the of the small clock systems is discussed.

Citation

Journal of the Optical Society of America B-Optical Physics

Volume

23

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

atomic clocks, diode lasers, microfabrication

Citation

Gerginov, V. , Knappe, S. , Schwindt, P. , Shah, V. , Hollberg, L. and Kitching, J. (2006), Long-Term Frequency Instability of CPT Clocks With Microfabricated Vapor Cells, Journal of the Optical Society of America B-Optical Physics, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=841921 (Accessed October 2, 2025)