Pulsed optically pumped rubidium clock with high frequency-stability performance.

Area of Science:

• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Metrology and Measurement Science
• Quantum Information Science

Background:

• Atomic clocks are crucial for precise timekeeping and navigation.
• Vapor-cell atomic clocks offer compact and cost-effective solutions.
• Pulsed Ramsey spectroscopy enhances clock performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of a pulsed vapor-cell rubidium frequency standard.
• To achieve and report record short-term frequency stability.
• To identify key physical phenomena contributing to clock performance.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a vapor-cell rubidium atomic clock operating in a pulsed regime.
• Employed Ramsey spectroscopy to generate the clock signal.
• Optically detected laser absorption to observe the Ramsey pattern.

Main Results:

• Achieved a relative frequency stability of σy(τ) = 1.6 × 10(-13)τ-1/2 for integration times up to 200 seconds.
• Experimental results align with theoretical predictions.
• Demonstrated a record short-term stability for vapor-cell clocks.

Conclusions:

• The pulsed operation significantly enhances the short-term stability of vapor-cell rubidium frequency standards.
• This work sets a new benchmark for compact atomic clock technology.
• Understanding the contributing physical phenomena is key to further improvements.