Deployment of a Transportable Yb Optical Lattice Clock

2024/09/24 by Tobias Bothwell, Bothwell, Tobias, Wesley Brand +35 · 2 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies #Advanced Frequency and Time Standards #Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Optics (physics.optics) #Semiconductor Lasers and Optical Devices

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2409.16264

openalex publication_date 2024/09/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

We report on the first deployment of a ytterbium (Yb) transportable optical lattice clock (TOLC), commercially shipping the clock 3,000 km from Boulder, Colorado to Washington DC. The system, composed of a rigidly mounted optical reference cavity, atomic physics package, and an optical frequency comb, fully realizes an independent frequency standard for comparisons in the optical and microwave domains. The shipped Yb TOLC was fully operational within 2 days of arrival, enabling frequency comparisons with rubidium (Rb) fountains at the United States Naval Observatory (USNO). To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first deployment of a fully independent TOLC, including the frequency comb, coherently uniting the optical stability of the Yb TOLC to the microwave output of the Rb fountain.

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