U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Physical Measurement Laboratory / Time and Frequency Division

Neutral Atom Optical Clocks Group

Projects/Programs

Displaying 1 - 4 of 4
Cryogenic sapphire optical cavity

Laser Stabilization and Coherence with Optical Resonators

Ongoing
Coherent laser interrogation of the narrowband electronic ‘clock’ transition is required to realize the very high spectroscopic resolution that make optical clocks so precise. At the same time, phase fluctuations in the laser interrogation can compromise the frequency stability of the optical clock
BO+WKB model

Optical Clock Atomic Structure and Theory

Ongoing
An atomic clock aims to realize the intrinsic ticking rate of an atom. This ticking rate (i.e., frequency) is associated with a transition between two quantum levels of the atom, where each level corresponds to a different configuration of the electrons around the nucleus. Atomic clocks derive their
yb optical clock

Yb Optical Lattice Clock

Ongoing
In recent years, optical clocks have achieved performance that is orders of magnitude beyond more traditional atomic clocks utilizing a microwave timebase. A particularly promising type of advanced optical clock is the optical lattice clock. At their heart, these systems use an ensemble of ultracold
atom chamber

Portable Optical Lattice Clock

Ongoing
Exploiting their very high precision, atomic clocks today are used extensively in demanding timekeeping applications. These include a variety of navigation, communication, and remote sensing and imaging applications. The very best atomic clocks today, optical clocks, are among the most precise