Title :
Linear ion trap based atomic frequency standard
Author :
Prestage, J.D. ; Janik, G.R. ; Dick, G.J. ; Maleki, L.
Author_Institution :
Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA
Abstract :
An effort to develop a trapped-ion-based fieldable frequency standard with a stability of 4*10/sup -13// square root tau for averaging times tau <10/sup 6/ s is described. To achieve this, a hybrid RF/DC linear ion trap which permits storage of large numbers of ions with reduced susceptibility to the second-order Doppler effect caused by the RF confining fields has been developed. This trap confines ions along a line of nodes of the RF field. The trapping force transverse to the line of nodes is generated by the pondermotive force as in conventional Paul traps, while the axial trapping force is provided by DC electric fields. In preliminary measurements, stabilities of 2*10/sup -12// square root tau have been obtained with a 4-Hz-wide atomic resonance linewidth.<>
Keywords :
Doppler effect; atomic clocks; frequency measurement; ion beams; measurement standards; particle traps; 4 Hz; DC electric fields; RF confining fields; RF field; atomic frequency standard; atomic resonance linewidth; axial trapping force; hybrid RF/DC linear ion trap; pondermotive force; second-order Doppler effect; trapping force transverse; Atomic clocks; Clouds; Doppler shift; Electrodes; Frequency; Laboratories; Plasma density; Propulsion; Stability; Standards development;
Conference_Titel :
Precision Electromagnetic Measurements, 1990. CPEM '90 Digest., Conference on
Conference_Location :
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
DOI :
10.1109/CPEM.1990.110019
