Diode-laser-pumped, gas-cell atomic clocks

摘要

Theoretical models indicate that laser optical pumping in rubidium gas cell atomic clocks afford the possibility of several orders of magnitude improvement in short-term performance over conventional lamp-pumped devices. Preliminary experiments indicating that the short-term stability is achievable are reported. Additionally, the spatial and temporal coherence of the laser affords possibilities for control of the long-term instability caused by light shift; that is, new geometries and cell types are possible because of the lasers' spatial coherence while the temporal coherence and tunability allow one to operate at carefully chosen conditions to minimize light shift. All of this may allow total performance from a rubidium cell standard that rivals active hydrogen masers.