Atomic Clock with Enhanced Stability (ACES)*

Abstract

*Formerly Next Generation Atomic Clock Atomic clock technology provides the high-performance backbone of timing and synchronization for DoD navigation, communications, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), and Electronic Warfare (EW) systems. Prior DARPA investment in Chip-Scale Atomic Clock (CSAC) technology has led to recent demonstrations of enhanced DoD capabilities, enabled by the availability of atomic-quality timing in portable battery-powered applications. The Atomic Clock with Enhanced Stability (ACES) program will develop a next-generation low-size, weight, and power (SWaP) atomic clock, with 100X-1000X improvement in key performance parameters, by employing alternative approaches to atomic confinement and interrogation, with particular focus on developing the component technologies necessary to enable low-cost manufacturing and robust deployment in harsh DoD environments. ACES will develop chip-scale atomic clocks achieving temperature coefficient of frequency < 10^-15/°C, drift < 10^-13/month, instability < 10^-11/sqrt(tau), and retrace < 10^-13 which are robust against acceleration and magnetic fields (10^-13/g and 10^-13/gauss, respectively). This will enable precise timing on low size, weight, and power (SWaP) platforms with extended mission duration. In order to achieve these performance metrics, new enabling technology and interrogation techniques will be integrated into systems.

Document Details

Document Type
Accomplishment
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2017
Source ID
1aede952a89caa2efbe18bb29a2edeef

Tags

Readers

  • Distributed Systems and Data Platform Development
  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics

Related Documents