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Title: Exploring Ramsey-coherent population trapping atomic clock realized with pulsed microwave modulated laser

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4867915· OSTI ID:22277920
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  1. Key Laboratory of Atomic Frequency Standards, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071 (China)
  2. Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China)

A scheme for a Ramsey-coherent population trapping (CPT) atomic clock that eliminates the acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is proposed and experimentally studied. Driven by a periodically microwave modulated current, the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser emits a continuous beam that switches between monochromatic and multichromatic modes. Ramsey-CPT interference has been studied with this mode-switching beam. In eliminating the AOM, which is used to generate pulsed laser in conventional Ramsey-CPT atomic clock, the physics package of the proposed scheme is virtually the same as that of a conventional compact CPT atomic clock, although the resource budget for the electronics will slightly increase as a microwave switch should be added. By evaluating and comparing experimentally recorded signals from the two Ramsey-CPT schemes, the short-term frequency stability of the proposed scheme was found to be 46% better than the scheme with AOM. The experimental results suggest that the implementation of a compact Ramsey-CPT atomic clock promises better frequency stability.

OSTI ID:
22277920
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 115, Issue 9; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English