A Subcompact Q-Enhanced Active Hydrogen Maser
Abstract
A hydrogen maser has been fabricated that is considerably smaller than others developed by Hughes Research Laboratories (HRL) (1,2). The system uses an L-C loading structure to lower the resonant frequency of the microwave cavity, and an electronic cavity stabilization servo to ensure long-term cavity stability. The overall size of the physics unit (microwave cavity, vacuum chamber, dissociator, state selector, hydrogen source, four nested magnetic shields, and front-end electronics) is 5.6 in. by 5.6 in. by 14.5 in. The entire maser, including all power supplies and receiver electronics, is being packaged in a 6 in. by 16 in. by 17 in. envelope suitable for rack mounting. Preliminary data show a stability of 8 x 10(exp -14) for a tau of 100 s, which is very close to the theoretical limit for this design (3), and significantly better than that for other standards of comparable size. Such a maser should prove very attractive for applications in which high stability, small package size, and low weight are critical requirements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA492725
Entities
People
- Harry T. Wang
- Robert R. Hayes
Organizations
- HRL Laboratories