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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature
Published on: March 11, 2022
Beamforming using chip-scale atomic clocks in a controlled environment
Simon E Freeman1, Lloyd Emokpae2, Jeffrey S Rogers2
1Naval Undersea Warfare Center, 1176 Howell Street, Newport, Rhode Island 02841, USA.
Abstract:
Recently developed low-power Chip-Scale Atomic Clocks (CSACs) hold promise for underwater acoustics applications because they enable time-coherent processing, critical for estimating the directionality of the sound field, when acoustic array elements cannot share a timing reference. Controlled, tank-based experiments with a small acoustic array (N = 4) featuring CSAC-equipped elements show that optimal disciplining is important for continued array coherence. Clock drift equivalent to a 10% wavelength error at 0.3, 1, and 10 kHz was reached at approximately 25, 10, and 3 days, respectively. Within application-specific limits, this technology brings enhanced capabilities to acoustic thermometry, geoacoustic, biological, and under-ice acoustic oceanography.
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