Microfabricated Atomic Clocks at NIST

Published

December 7, 2004

Author(s)

Svenja A. Knappe, P Schwindt, Vladislav Gerginov, V Shah, Leo W. Hollberg, John E. Kitching, Li-Anne Liew, John Moreland

Abstract

In this paper we present the latest progress in the development, fabrication, and characterization of a microfabricated atomic frequency reference at NIST. With volumes below 10 mm3 the physics packages contain the complete integrated assembly for probing the hyperfine frequency of the alkali atoms by coherent population trapping (CPT). This technique allows for a simple and compact device containing a VCSEL, optics to shape the laser beam, a vapor cell containing the atoms, and a detector. We present an improved technique to microfabricate the miniature alkali vapor cells. When integrated into a CPT clock, a clear reduction of long-term frequency drifts is observed. This leads to a fractional frequency instability of less than 10-11 at one hour of integration, an improvement of more than an order of magnitude over previous results. We identify the remaining sensitivities of the clock frequency to environmental influences and propose ways to reduce these.

Proceedings Title

Proc. PTTI

Conference Location

Washington, DC

Conference Title

Precise Time and Time Interval Planning and Applications Meeting

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

high-resolution, micro-optics, spectroscopy

Citation

Knappe, S. , Schwindt, P. , Gerginov, V. , Shah, V. , Hollberg, L. , Kitching, J. , Liew, L. and Moreland, J. (2004), Microfabricated Atomic Clocks at NIST, Proc. PTTI , Washington, DC, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=30061 (Accessed October 4, 2025)