Miniature frequency standard based on all-optical excitation and a micro-machined containment vessel
First Claim
1. A micro-machined cell for an atomic frequency standard comprising:
- a container having an interior, walls and a window to allow light to pass therethrough, said container operable to hold a vapor;
a first vapor contained in said container, said first vapor comprising a plurality of quantum absorbers, said absorbers having a transition frequency; and
means for reducing the destruction of the coherence of the quantum absorbers due to collisions of the quantum absorbers with the cell walls.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A microwave frequency standard is provided which allows for miniaturization down to length scales of order one micron, comprising a modulated light field originating from a laser that illuminates a collection of quantum absorbers contained in a micro-machined cell. The frequency standard of the present invention can be based on all-optical excitation techniques such as coherent population trapping (CPT) and stimulated Raman scattering or on conventional microwave-excited designs. In a CPT-based embodiment, a photodetector detects a change in transmitted power through the cell and that is used to stabilize an external oscillator to correspond to the absorber'"'"'s transition frequency by locking the laser modulation frequency to the transition frequency. In a stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) embodiment, a high-speed photodetector detects a laser field transmitted through the cell beating with a second field originating in the cell. Both the locked laser modulation frequency and the beat frequency are very stable as they are referenced directly to the atomic transition.
95 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A micro-machined cell for an atomic frequency standard comprising:
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a container having an interior, walls and a window to allow light to pass therethrough, said container operable to hold a vapor;
a first vapor contained in said container, said first vapor comprising a plurality of quantum absorbers, said absorbers having a transition frequency; and
means for reducing the destruction of the coherence of the quantum absorbers due to collisions of the quantum absorbers with the cell walls. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
a micro-machined cell according to claim 1;
a laser operable to generate light and positioned such that said light passes through said vapor; and
a photodetector for detecting said light having passed through said vapor to provide a signal that is referenced to a characteristic of said detected light.
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8. An atomic frequency standard according to claim 7 further comprising a system to apply an oscillating magnetic field to the quantum absorbers, wherein the photodetector monitors said detected light to provide adjustments to the frequency of said oscillating magnetic field, detects a frequency of modulation that coincides with one of said quantum absorbers, a harmonic of said quantum absorber frequency or a subharmonic of said quantum absorber frequency by detecting a change in the detected light and outputs the detected frequency as a reference.
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9. An atomic frequency standard according to claim 7, further comprising an external oscillator to modulate an injection current of the laser to produce optical sidebands for coherent population trapping, wherein the photodetector monitors said detected light to provide adjustments to the frequency of modulation of the external oscillator, detects a frequency of modulation that coincides exactly with the quantum absorbers, a harmonic of the quantum absorber frequency, or a subharmonic of the quantum absorber frequency, by detecting a change in the detected light and outputs the detected frequency as a reference.
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10. An atomic frequency standard according to claim 7, further comprising:
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a single-frequency first optical field created by said laser;
a second optical field, created through the process of Raman scattering, separated from the first field by a frequency equal to the transition in the quantum absorbers, wherein said photodetector detects a beatnote having a frequency equal to the optical difference frequency between the first and second fields and outputs said beatnote frequency as a reference.
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13. The atomic frequency reference of claim 7, wherein said vapor comprises an alkali atom.
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14. The atomic frequency reference of claim 13 wherein said alkali atom is one of cesium, rubidium, and potassium.
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15. A LAN comprising the atomic frequency reference of claim 7.
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16. An instrument calibration system comprising the atomic frequency reference of claim 7.
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17. An identification system comprising the atomic frequency reference of claim 7.
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18. An anti-jamming apparatus comprising the atomic frequency reference of claim 7.
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19. A magnetometer comprising:
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a micro-machined cell according to claim 1;
a laser operable to generate light and positioned such that said light passes through said vapor; and
a photodetector for detecting said light having passed through said vapor to provide a signal that is referenced to a characteristic of said light.
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20. A computational device based on a network of micro-machined cells according to claim 1 wherein said cells are used to store information by encoding at least one coherence property of the quantum absorber.
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11. A method for a micro-machined cell of an atomic frequency standard, comprising the steps of:
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micro-machining a container as a quantum resonator to have walls and a window to allow light to pass therethrough, said container operable to hold a vapor, enclosing in said cell a vapor comprising a plurality of quantum absorbers having a transition frequency; and
reducing the destruction of the coherence of the quantum absorbers due to collisions of the quantum absorbers with the container walls. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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Specification