Related papers: Coherent Optical Clock Down-Conversion for Microwa…
Time and frequency transfer lies at the heart of the field of metrology. Compared to current microwave dissemination such as GPS, optical domain dissemination can provide more than one order of magnitude in terms of higher accuracy, which…
Recent experimental progress in cooling, trapping, and quantum logic spectroscopy of highly-charged ions (HCIs) made HCIs accessible for high resolution spectroscopy and precision fundamental studies. Based on these achievements, we explore…
Optical atomic clocks deliver unrivaled precision, yet their size and complexity still confine them to specialized laboratories. Frequency combs provide the crucial optical-to-microwave division needed for clock readout, but conventional…
Sub-picosecond timing synchronization can enable future optical timekeeping networks, including coherent phased array radar imaging at GHz levels, intercontinental clock comparisons for the redefinition of the second, chronometric leveling,…
In order to improve the short-term stability of trapped-ion optical clocks, we are developing a frequency standard based on ${}^{115}$In${}^+$ / ${}^{172}$Yb${}^+$ Coulomb crystals. For this purpose, we have developed scalable segmented…
Optical clocks are the apotheosis of precision measurement, but they require frequent maintenance by scientists. The supporting laser systems are a particularly demanding component of these instruments. To reduce complexity and increase…
An optical atomic clock scheme is developed that utilizes two lasers to establish coherent coupling between the $5s^2 \phantom{}^1S_0$ ground state of $^{88}$Sr and the first excited state, $5s5p \phantom{}^3P_0$. The coupling is mediated…
We report the synthesis and measurement of an ultra-precise and extremely stable optical frequency in the telecommunications window around 1543 nm. Using a fibre-based femtosecond frequency comb we have phase-stabilised a fibre laser at 194…
The sensitivity of an atomic interferometer increases when the phase evolution of its quantum superposition state is measured over a longer interrogation interval. In practice, a limit is set by the measurement process, which returns not…
We describe a fiber-optic solution for simultaneous distribution of all signals generated at todays most advanced time and frequency laboratories, i.e. an ultrastable optical reference frequency derived from an optical atomic clock, a radio…
We synchronize a 8.06-GHz microwave signal from a voltage-controlled oscillator with an optical pulse train from a 77.5- MHz mode-locked Er-fiber laser using a fiber-based optical-microwave phase detector. The residual phase noise between…
We experimentally investigate an optical frequency standard based on the $^2S_{1/2} (F=0)\to {}^2F_{7/2} (F=3)$ electric octupole (\textit{E}3) transition of a single trapped $^{171}$Yb$^+$ ion. For the spectroscopy of this strongly…
This letter presents the principles and techniques of active optical clock, a special laser combining the laser physics of one-atom laser, bad-cavity gas laser, super-cavity stabilized laser and optical atomic clock. As an example, a…
We describe a high-performance, compact optical frequency standard based on a microfabricated Rb vapor cell and a low-noise, external cavity diode laser operating on the Rb two-photon transition at 778 nm. The optical standard achieves an…
This paper shows the experimental details of the stabilization scheme that allows full control of the repetition rate and the carrier-envelope offset frequency of a 10 GHz frequency comb based on a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser.…
We demonstrated transferring the stability of one highly stable clock laser operating at 729 nm to another less stable laser operating at 698 nm. The two different wavelengths were bridged using an optical frequency comb. The improved…
State-of-the-art atomic clocks are based on the precise detection of the energy difference between two atomic levels, measured as a quantum phase accumulated in a given time interval. Optical-lattice clocks (OLCs) now operate at or near the…
Optical two-way time and frequency transfer is an enabling technology that has applications ranging from fundamental investigations of relativity to the operation of global navigation satellite systems. While fiber frequency combs have…
The generation of ultra-low noise microwave and mmWave in miniaturized, chip-based platforms can transform communication, radar, and sensing systems. Optical frequency division that leverages optical references and optical frequency combs…
Some 50~years ago, physicists, and after them the entire world, started to found their time reference on atomic properties instead of motions of the Earth that have been in use since the origin. Far from being an arrival point, this…