Optical Frequency Comb
Abstract
Optical atomic clocks are the most precise instruments ever realized. The superior timekeeping capabilities has the potential to transform navigation, but the requisite transportable optical clocks are in their infancy. We are developing trapped ion optical clocks based on atoms (radium and strontium) with properties that will ease the requirements for robust operation and in a small form factor to help advance the state-of-the-art in transportable timekeeping. Specifically, these ions have very low optical power requirements for operation with wavelengths that are far from the UV compared to most demonstrated clock species. These optical properties makes them favorable for integrated photonic systems, thereby promising dramatic advances in the size and reliability of optical clocks. In this proposal we request an optical frequency comb system. The frequency comb is required to measure the wavelength of the clock light and thereby count the clock’s oscillations. With a frequency comb we will be able to precisely measure the radium ion’s clock transition frequency for the first time, which is an important step to establishing it as a secondary representation of the second. We are developing a new concept to realize a strontium ion clock with magnetic field insensitive states. With the frequency comb we will be able to simultaneously operate and benchmark radium ion clocks and strontium ion clocks against one another.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 06, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310389
Entities
People
- A. M. Jayich
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of California, Santa Barbara