Ultracold-Rb Atomic Clock


  Omer Amit [1]  ,  David Groswasser [1]  ,  Meni Givon [1]  ,  Amir Waxman [2]  ,  Avinoam Stern [2]  ,  Ron Folman [1]  
[1] Ben-Gurion University
[2] Accubeat

We present the design and first realization of a portable primary atomic clock based on cold 87Rb atoms. Laser cooling down to a few μK is accomplished using a retro-reflecting pyramid design. Miniaturization and stabilization is achieved using a single polarization-maintaining fiber for all the necessary laser frequencies. The design also utilizes a novel configuration for detecting the ultra-cold atoms. This design should allow us to reach 10−13 absolute accuracy.