Miniaturized optical frequency standard for next-generation portable optical clocks

Abstract

Optical frequency standards, lasers stabilized to atomic or molecular transitions, are widely used in length metrology and laser ranging, provide a backbone for optical communications and lie at the heart of next-generation optical atomic clocks. Here we demonstrate a compact, low-power optical frequency standard based on the Doppler-free, two-photon transition in rubidium-87 at 778 nm implemented on a micro-optics breadboard. The optical standard achieves a fractional frequency stability of 2.9x10${}^{-12}$/$\sqrt{\tau }$ for averaging times $\tau$ less than 10${}^3$ s, has a volume of $\approx$35 cm${}^3$ and operates on $\approx$450 mW of electrical power. These results demonstrate a key step towards the development of compact optical clocks and the broad dissemination of SI-traceable wavelength references.

4 pages, 4 figures

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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Twin-field quantum key distribution without optical frequency dissemination
• High-performance, compact optical standard
• A Prototype of a Compact Rubidium-Based Optical Frequency Reference for Operation on Nanosatellites
• Compact Plug and Play Optical Frequency Reference Device Based on Doppler-Free Spectroscopy of Rubidium Vapor
• Tutorial on laser locking techniques and the manufacturing of vapor cells for spectroscopy
• Two-photon rubidium clock detecting 776~nm fluorescence
• Tailoring the Stability of a Two-Color, Two-Photon Rubidium Frequency Standard
• Experimental and theoretical study of dynamic polarizabilities in the $5S_{1/2}$-$5D_{5/2}$ clock transition in rubidium-87 and determination of E1 matrix elements
• Fabrication and characterization of iodine photonic microcell for sub-Doppler spectroscopy and laser stabilization
• Rb-induced (3x1) and (6x1) reconstructions on Si(111)-(7x7): A LEED and STM study