NIST has developed a new chip-scale atomic clock that is about a hundred times more stable and accurate than their original 2004 design. The latest version uses rubidium atoms confined in a tiny glass container on a chip, with two frequency combs acting as gears to link high-frequency optical signals to a lower microwave frequency. This new design requires very little power (275 milliwatts) and could potentially be made small enough for handheld use.
The compact two-photon vapor-cell clock could be used as an improved portable timing standard for various technologies, including as a backup to satellite-based GPS. Widespread use of next-generation chip-scale atomic clocks could provide an even more accurate benchmark for calibrating GPS timing signals, which are indispensable to a host of synchronized systems like cellphone communications, power grids, airline navigation, and defense applications.
The new design opens up a world of new applications through its portability. NIST’s compact two-photon vapor-cell clock can be used as an improved portable timing standard for various kinds of technologies, including as a backup to the satellite-based GPS. The more that NIST scientists can reduce the size and increase the accuracy of an atomic clock, the more uses it will have, the more places it can go, and the less power it will need.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/noac/technology/time-and-frequency/chip-scale-clocks
Keywords: accurate, atomic, chip-scale, clock, frequency, precision, rubidium, stable, standard, timekeeping
