frequency standard using atoms trapped on a chip.pdfVIP

Available online at /locate/asr Advances in Space Research 47 (2011) 247–252Compact frequency standard using atoms trapped on a chip F. Ram??rez-Mart??nez a, C. Lacrou?te a, P. Rosenbusch a,*, F. Reinhard b,1, C. Deutsch b, T. Schneider b,2, J. Reichel b aLNE-SYRTE, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, UPMC, 75014 Paris, France bLKB, ENS, CNRS, UPMC, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France Received 22 October 2009; received in revised form 9 April 2010; accepted 12 April 2010Abstract We present a compact atomic frequency standard based on the interrogation of magnetically trapped 87Rb atoms. Two photons, in the microwave and radiofrequency domain excite the atomic transition. At a magnetic field of 3.23 G this transition from jF = 1, mF = 1i to jF = 2, mF = 1i is 1st order insensitive to magnetic field variations. Long Ramsey interrogation times can thus be achieved, leading to a projected stability in the low 1013 at 1 s. This makes this device a viable alternative to LITE and HORACE as a good can- didate for replacing or complementing the rubidium frequency standards and passive hydrogen masers already on board of the GPS, GLONASS, and GALILEO satellites. Here we present preliminary results. We use an atom chip to cool and trap the atoms. A coplanar waveguide is integrated to the chip to carry the Ramsey interrogation signal, making the physics package potentially as small as (5 cm)3. We describe the experimental apparatus and show preliminary Ramsey fringes of 1.25 Hz linewidth. We also show a preliminary fre- quency stability ry = 1.5  1012s1/2 for 10 s 103 s. This represents one order of magnitude improvement with respect to previous experiments.  2010 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Atomic clock; Atom chip; Compact clock; Ultra-cold atoms; Rubidium1. Introduction Current research on atomic clocks aims at numerous purposes and applications. The development of clocks that are more accurate, and will probably lead to a new defini- ti