Digital frequency generation in atomic frequency standards using digital phase shifting

• US 5,721,514 A
• Filed: 07/11/1996
• Issued: 02/24/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Efratom Time and Frequency Products, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Efratom Time and Frequency Products, Inc.
• Inventors: Crockett, Jeff D., Skoczen, Gerold L.
• Primary Examiner(s): MIS, DAVID C
• Application Number:
  US08/678,296
• Time in Patent Office: 593 Days
• Field of Search: 331/3, 331/94.1
• US Class Current: 331/3
• CPC Class Codes: H03C 3/00 Angle modulation H03C5/00, H03C7/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/26 using energy levels of molecules, atoms, or subatomic particles as a frequency reference

Abstract

In the generation of frequency-modulated interrogation frequencies for atomic frequency standards, the modulation characteristics can be tailored to the frequency discrimination characteristics of a physics package. The rate of phase change of a digital pulse train providing a frequency-modulated component of interrogation frequency for an atomic frequency standard can be varied, for example, by multiplexing a plurality of differently phased (delayed) pulse trains to vary the rate of phase change in a digital interrogation frequency component, or by effecting phase delays and phase advances through the addition and subtraction of pulses of a digital interrogation frequency component. In addition, fine frequency and/or modulation depth control, which can overcome physics package frequency offsets, can be effected through the addition and/or subtraction of increments of phase to and/or from a digital frequency component of the interrogation frequency at a variable phase change frequency (or drop rate count) to provide variable rates of phase change in alternate half-cycles of the modulation frequency in the synthesis of a frequency-modulated interrogation signal.

Claims

1. In a method of digitally generating a frequency-modulated physics package interrogation signal in an atomic frequency standard, the improvement comprising

generating a digital frequency component of the interrogation signal and a digital modulation frequency from a clock frequency, and varying the rate of phase change of the digital frequency component on alternate half-cycles of the digital modulation frequency.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the rate of phase change is varied by multiplexing pulse trains with several different phases of an alpha frequency generated from the clock frequency.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein four digital phases are generated from the leading and trailing edges of a frequency twice the alpha frequency.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the pulse trains with four different phases of the alpha frequency are multiplexed at a phase change frequency that is a submultiple of the clock frequency.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the pulse trains with four different phases are multiplexed in one order in one half-cycle of the modulation frequency and in an inverse order in the other half-cycle of the modulation frequency.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the order of multiplexing of the pulse trains with four different phases is reversed on the alternate half-cycles of the modulation frequency by a digital code input to the multiplexer.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the digital code is generated from the phase change frequency.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the digital code is generated from a first pulse train at half the phase change frequency and a second pulse train at a quarter of the phase change frequency.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the digital code is changed on alternate half-cycles of the modulation frequency by inverting the first pulse train.

10. The method of claim 2 wherein said alpha frequency is a submultiple of clock frequency.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the rate of phase change is provided at different phase change frequencies on alternate half-cycles of the modulation frequency.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein each of the different phase change frequencies are submultiples of the clock frequency.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the rate of phase change is varied by multiplexing N signals at an alpha frequency, each of the N signals being separated in phase by 2π

/N radians of the alpha frequency, and wherein the N signals are multiplexed at a rate to provide an output signal with a phase variation from the alpha frequency in a multiple of 2π

radians at the alpha frequency.

14. The method of claim 5 wherein the order of multiplexing of the pulse trains with four different phases are controlled by two pulse trains, generated from the phase change frequency, said pulse trains being combined to provide a series of sequential two bit words applied for switching of the multiplexer.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the two pulse trains are combineable into two bit words for counts of 0, 1, 2 and 3.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein by inversion of the pulse train generated at the modulation frequency reverses the order of switching by the multiplexer of the four differently phased pulse trains.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the rate of phase change is incremented positively and negatively on alternate half-cycles of the modulation frequency.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of generating one or more delayed digital frequency components of the interrogation frequency, and multiplexing the one or more delayed digital frequency components with an undelayed digital frequency component of the interrogation frequency in each half-cycle of the modulation frequency to advance the phase of the digital frequency component in one half-cycle of the modulation frequency and to delay the phase of the digital frequency component in the other half-cycle of the modulation frequency.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the rate of phase change is incremented positively by adding pulses to, and is incremented negatively by removing pulses from, the digital frequency component.

20. In digital means for generating a frequency-modulated physics package interrogation signal in an atomic frequency standard including means for generating a clock frequency, the improvement comprising means for generating a plurality of digital components of the interrogation signal from the clock frequency;

means for varying the rate of phase change of one of the digital frequency components of the interrogation signal; and

means for combining the plurality of digital components of the interrogation signal and providing the frequency-modulated interrogation signal.

21. The improvement of claim 20 wherein said means effects phase variation by phase delay and phase advance in digital frequency shift keyed modulation.

22. The improvement of claim 21 wherein phase advance is effected by pulse addition to the digital frequency component and phase delay is effected by pulse swallowing from the digital frequency component.

23. The improvement of claim 20 wherein said means effects phase delay and phase advance by multiplex selection of a plurality of variably phased digital frequency components of the interrogation frequency.

24. The improvement of claim 21 wherein phase delay and phase advance are generated by synchronized sequential division by any two or more integral divisors.

25. In an atomic frequency standard including a controllable frequency source for generating a source output frequency, a physics package for generating an atomic transition frequency through the excitation of an atomic gas, means for generating, from the source output frequency, a modulated interrogation frequency, means for injecting and mixing said modulated interrogation frequency with said atomic transition frequency, means for generating a signal proportional to the difference between said atomic transition frequency and said modulated interrogation frequency and means for controlling said controllable frequency source from said signal and for locking said controllable frequency source to said atom transition frequency, the improvement wherein said means for generating, from the source output frequency, a modulated interrogation frequency comprises digital means for synchronously synthesizing a plurality of integrally-related submultiple frequencies of said source output frequency and an integrally-related modulation frequency, one of said integrally-related submultiple frequencies being frequency-modulated by the addition and subtraction of pulses at said integrally-related modulation frequency, and means for digitally mixing said plurality of integrally-related submultiple frequencies, including said frequency-modulated submultiple frequency, in synthesizing said modulated interrogation frequency.

26. In a method of digitally synthesizing a frequency-modulated microwave signal for exciting a physics package of an atomic frequency package, the improvement comprising the steps of:

generating from said clock frequency a submultiple frequency with a period T;

generating from said submultiple frequency N variously delayed signals, each of said N signals comprising the submultiple frequency delayed by a time T/N from each of the other N signals;

providing each of said N variously delayed signals to a multiplexer;

generating a multiplexer operating signal by generating a phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train signal by dividing the clock signal by a substantial number, and generating a frequency modulation signal by dividing the phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train signal by a further substantial number, and combining the phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train signal and the frequency modulation signal for operation of said multiplexer to provide an output frequency with one or more periods of T between the transition edges of the phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train signal and with one period of (T+T/N) at each edge of each pulse of the phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train signal during one half-cycle of the frequency modulation signal, and for operation said multiplexer or provide an output frequency with one or more periods of T between the transition edges of the phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train signal and with one period of (T-T/N) at each edge of each pulse of the phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train signal during the other half-cycle of the frequency modulation signal.

27. In a method of digitally synthesizing a frequency-modulated microwave signal from a clock frequency of an atomic frequency standard for use with a physics package in controlling the clock frequency, the improvement comprising:

generating, by dividing said clock frequency, (a) a modulatable frequency, (b) a modulation frequency selected for effective interaction with the physics package, and (c) a phase change frequency (DRC) which is substantially smaller than the modulatable frequency and substantially larger than the modulation frequency, and

modulating said modulatable frequency by adding phase shift to the modulatable frequency at the phase change frequency (DRC) during one half-cycle of the modulation frequency and by subtracting phase shift from the modulatable frequency at the phase change frequency (DRC) during the other half-cycle of the modulatable frequency, the phase shift of said modulatable frequency being zero over each cycle of the modulation frequency.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the clock frequency is 20 MHz, the modulatable frequency is 10 MHz, the modulation frequency is 152.58789 Hz and the phase change frequency (DRC) is 19.53125 kHz.

29. The improvement of claim 27 wherein the phase change frequency (DRC) is programmable to yield fine frequency control of the atomic frequency standard by programming unique phase change frequencies (DRC) for when the modulation signal is high and for when the modulation frequency is low.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the phase shift change frequency (DRC) is programmed by hardware jumpers connected to the synthesizer circuit.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein the phase shift change frequency (DRC) is programmed by external control methods.

32. In an atomic frequency standard including means for generating from a clock frequency, a digital frequency-modulated microwave signal for application to a physics package the improvement comprising

means for generating, from said clock frequency, a microwave submultiple frequency with a period T and for generating from said microwave submultiple frequency a plurality of N pulse trains at said submultiple frequency, said pulse trains being delayed from each other by a period T/N;

and

means for generating, from said plurality of N delayed pulse trains, a frequency-modulated digital signal comprising

means for combining said plurality of delayed pulse trains, said combining means being operated by a modulation frequency and a phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train, said phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train operating said combining means to switch its output among the plurality delayed pulse trains to provide a pulse train output with an instantaneous frequency of 1/T for one or more periods between the transition edges of the phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train and with an instantaneous frequency of 1/(T+T/N) for one period at each pulse edge of the phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train during one half-cycle of the modulation frequency signal, and for operation of said multiplexer to provide an output instantaneous frequency of 1/T for one or more periods between the transition edges of the phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train and with an instantaneous frequency of 1/(T-T/N) for one period at each pulse edge of the phase change frequency (DRC) pulse train during the other half-cycle of the modulation frequency.

33. A method of controlling a frequency-modulated interrogation signal in an atomic frequency standard, comprising:

generating, from a clock frequency of the atomic frequency standard, a frequency for modulation of the interrogation signal and a phase change frequency;

using the phase change frequency to provide a different rate of phase change of the interrogation signal in alternate half-cycles of the modulation frequency; and

controlling the rate of phase change in modulating the interrogation signal by varying the phase change frequency.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein the phase change frequency is changed in one half-cycle of the modulation frequency.

35. The method of claim 33 wherein the phase change frequency is changed in both half-cycles of the modulation frequency.

36. Means for generating a frequency-modulated component of an interrogation frequency from the clock frequency of an atomic frequency standard, comprising

means for generating a phase change frequency from said clock frequency;

means for generating a modulation frequency from said clock frequency;

means for generating, from said clock frequency, said phase change frequency and said modulation frequency, the frequency-modulated component of the interrogation frequency with different rates of phase change on alternate half-cycles of the modulation frequency.

37. The means of claim 36 wherein said means for generating a phase change frequency is controllable and can provide a different phase change frequency an alternate half-cycles of the modulation frequency.

38. The means of claim 37 wherein said means for generating a phase change frequency is connected with an outside control source for changing the phase change frequency.

39. The means of claim 37 wherein said means for generating a phase change frequency is controllable to change the phase change frequency in one or both half-cycles of the modulation frequency.

40. The means of claim 36 wherein said means for generating a frequency-modulated component of the interrogation signal from said clock frequency, said phase change frequency and said modulation frequency comprises a multiplexer.