We report on the implementation and the metrological characterization of a vapor-cell Rb frequency standard working in pulsed regime. The three main parts that compose the clock, physics package, optics and electronics, are described in detail in the paper. The prototype is designed and optimized to detect the clock transition in the optical domain. Specifically, the reference atomic transition, excited with a Ramsey scheme, is detected by observing the interference pattern on a laser absorption signal.The metrological analysis includes the observation and characterization of the clock signal and the measurement of frequency stability and drift. In terms of Allan deviation, the measured frequency stability results as low as 1.7 × 10 −13 τ −1/2 , τ being the averaging time, and reaches the value of few units of 10 −15 for τ = 10 4 s, an unprecedent achievement for a vapor cell clock. We discuss in the paper the physical effects leading to this result with particular care to laser and microwave noises transferred to the clock signal. The frequency drift, probably related to the temperature, stays below 10 −14 per day, and no evidence of flicker floor is observed.We also mention some possible improvements that in principle would lead to a clock stability below the 10 −13 level at 1 s and to a drift of few units of 10 −15 per day.1

To significantly improve the frequency references used in radio-astronomy and the precision measurements in atomic physics, we provide frequency dissemination through a 642-km coherent optical fiber link.\ud On the frequency transfer, we obtained a frequency instability of 3x10^-\ud 19\ud at 1,000 s in terms of Allan deviation on a 5-mHz measurement bandwidth, and an accuracy of 5x10^-19. The ultimate link performance has been evaluated by doubling the link to 1,284 km, demonstrating a new characterization technique based on the double round\ud trip on a single fiber. This method is an alternative to\ud previously demonstrated techniques for link characterization. In particular, the use of a single fiber may be beneficial to long hauls realizations in view of a continental fiber network for frequency and time metrology, as it avoids the doubling of the amplifiers, with a subsequent reduction in costs and maintenance. A detailed analysis of the results is presented, regarding the phase noise, the cycle-slips detection and removal and the instability evaluation. The observed noise power spectrum is seldom found in the literature; hence, the expression of the Allan\ud deviation is theoretically derived and the results confirm the expectations

For almost two decades, caesium fountain primary frequency standards (PFS) have represented the best realization of the definition of the second in the International System of units. Their accuracy has progressively improved with time, reaching a few parts in 1016. In this paper, we present the accuracy evaluation of ITCsF2, the new Cs fountain PFS developed at the Italian National Metrological Institute, designed to be operated at cryogenic temperature to reduce the blackbody radiation shift. The short-term stability of the ITCsF2 fountain is 2 × 10−13τ−1/2 when operated at high atomic density, and the relative inaccuracy reaches 2.3 × 10−16. We also report four calibrations of International Atomic Time with a relative frequency agreement of (−1.7 ± 3.2) × 10−16, between ITCsF2 and the average of the other fountains operated in the world during the reference periods.

We demonstrate a vapor cell atomic clock prototype based on continuous-wave (CW) interrogation and double-modulation coherent population trapping (DM-CPT) technique. The DM-CPT technique uses a synchronous modulation of polarization and relative phase of a bi-chromatic laser beam in order to increase the number of atoms trapped in a dark state, i.e. a non-absorbing state. The narrow resonance, observed in transmission of a Cs vapor cell, is used as a narrow frequency discriminator in an atomic clock. A detailed characterization of the CPT resonance versus numerous parameters is reported. A short-term frequency stability of 3.2 × 10 −13 τ −1/2 up to 100 s averaging time is measured. These performances are more than one order of magnitude better than industrial Rb clocks and comparable to those of best laboratory-prototype vapor cell clocks. The noise budget analysis shows that the short and mid-term frequency stability is mainly limited by the power fluctuations of the microwave used to generate the bi-chromatic laser. These preliminary results demonstrate that the DM-CPT technique is well-suited for the development of a high-performance atomic clock, with potential compact and robust setup due to its linear architecture. This clock could find future applications in industry, telecommunications, instrumentation or global navigation satellite systems.

In this paper, we report an analysis of the design criteria of microwave cavities for vapor cell frequency standards. Two main geometries exploited in those devices are considered: the cylindrical cavity, used, for example, in the coherent population trapping maser and in the pulsed optically pumped (POP) clock, and the spherical cavity used in the isotropically laser cooled clock. The cavity behavior is described through a lumped equivalent circuit in which the input coupling loop, the dielectric cell containing the atoms and the diodes for frequency tuning or Q control are taken into account. In particular, the effect of the cell on the cavity resonance frequency is analytically evaluated via a first-order perturbation approach. The theory is found in good agreement with the experiments performed with two different cylindrical cavities used for the POP clock; the model here developed can then be helpful in the design of the cavity system. The general principles here reported can be adapted to other standards, such as atomic fountains and hydrogen masers, and to other modes and/or geometries.