All-optical atomic clock on a chip: progress report

Abstract

We report on progress in the development of atomic clocks based on an opto-electronic oscillator stabilized with an atomic cell. For a demonstration setup, the short term (1 second) stability of 5/spl middot/10/sup -10/ and the long term (100 seconds) stability of 6/spl middot/10/sup -11/ are reported. Also discussed is the physics of a low power electro-optical modulator utilizing whispering gallery modes in a segnetoelectric disk. This modulator is an important element of the designed clock. It is shown that our approach allows for multi-function application of the designed clocks, that can also operate in the magnetometer regime.