Architecture for compact cold atom clocks

摘要

An atomic oscillator device includes an atomic oscillator, a controlled oscillator, a resonance controller, and a cold-atom clock output. The atomic oscillator comprises a two-dimensional optical cooling region (2D OCR) for providing a source of atoms and a three-dimensional optical cooling region (3D OCR) for cooling and/or trapping the atoms emitted by the 2D OCR. The atomic oscillator comprises a microwave cavity surrounding the 3D OCR for exciting an atomic resonance. The controlled oscillator produces an output frequency. The resonance controller is for steering the output frequency of the controlled oscillator based on the output frequency and the atomic resonance as measured using an atomic resonance measurement. The cold-atom clock output is configured as being the output frequency of the controlled oscillator.