Note: Pulsed optically pumped atomic clock based on a paraffin-coated cell.

Area of Science:

• Atomic Physics
• Quantum Optics
• Metrology

Background:

• Atomic clocks are crucial for timekeeping and navigation.
• Vapor cell atomic clocks offer miniaturization potential.
• Paraffin coating is explored to enhance atomic clock performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and characterize a pulsed optically pumped atomic clock using a paraffin-coated cell.
• To measure key relaxation times and assess frequency stability.
• To demonstrate the potential of paraffin-coated cells for high-performance atomic clocks.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a pulsed optically pumped atomic clock architecture.
• Employed a paraffin-coated vapor cell for alkali-metal vapor confinement.
• Measured longitudinal (T1) and transversal (T2) relaxation times.
• Evaluated clock frequency stability over various averaging times (τ).

Main Results:

• Measured T1 = 9.7 ± 0.4 ms and T2 = 0.40 ± 0.03 ms.
• Achieved a frequency stability of 3.9 × 10⁻¹³ τ⁻¹/² for 1 s ≤ τ ≤ 100 s.
• Reached a frequency stability of 3.1 × 10⁻¹⁴ at τ = 1000 s.
• Demonstrated unprecedented performance for a paraffin-coated vapor cell clock.

Conclusions:

• The paraffin-coated cell significantly enhances atomic clock performance.
• Pulsed optical pumping is effective for high-stability vapor cell clocks.
• This work contributes to the advancement of wall-coated vapor cell atomic clock technology.