Development of a miniature laser-cooled Cs fountain frequency standard at NIST

Author

Heavner, T.P. ; Meekhof, D.M. ; Kujundzic, D. ; Jefferts, S.R.

Author_Institution

Time & Frequency Div., Nat. Inst. of Stand. & Technol., Boulder, CO, USA

fYear

2000

fDate

2000

Firstpage

711

Lastpage

713

Abstract

We are developing a small laser-cooled Cs fountain at NIST with the goal of achieving exceptional short-term stability of σ_y(τ)≈2×10^-14τ^-1/2 with a long-term stability of ≈10^-15. Although this device is not designed to achieve the accuracy of the NIST primary frequency standard NIST-F1, this small, portable system will prove valuable as a local oscillator with intermediate accuracy. We discuss the performance goals of this frequency standard, the design philosophy, the existing physics package, and future directions

Keywords

atomic clocks; caesium; frequency stability; frequency standards; laser cooling; radiation pressure; Cs; Ramsey time; atomic fountain frequency standard; design philosophy; intermediate accuracy; local oscillator; long-term stability; miniature laser-cooled; optical molasses; portable system; short-term stability; state-selection cavity; Apertures; Atom optics; Atomic measurements; Frequency conversion; Laser stability; Local oscillators; NIST; Packaging; Physics; Standards development;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Frequency Control Symposium and Exhibition, 2000. Proceedings of the 2000 IEEE/EIA International

Conference_Location

Kansas City, MO

ISSN

1075-6787

Print_ISBN

0-7803-5838-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/FREQ.2000.887442

Filename

887442