A Yb optical clock with a lattice power enhancement cavity

We construct a power enhancement cavity to form an optical lattice in an ytterbium optical clock.It is demonstrated that the intra-cavity lattice power can be increased by about 45 times,and the trap depth can be as large as 1400Er when laser light with a power of only 0.6 W incident to the lattice cavity.Such high trap depths are the key to accurate evaluation of the lattice-induced light shift with an uncertainty down to~1×10-18.By probing the ytterbium atoms trapped in the power-enhanced optical lattice,we obtain a 4.3 Hz-linewidth Rabi spectrum,which is then used to feedback to the clock laser for the close loop operation of the optical lattice clock.We evaluate the density shift of the Yb optical lattice clock based on interleaving measurements,which is-0.46(62)mHz.This result is smaller compared to the density shift of our first Yb optical clock without lattice power enhancement cavity mainly due to a larger lattice diameter of 344μm.

Physics package based on intracavity laser cooling ^(87)Rb atoms for space cold atom microwave clock

This article proposes a new physics package to enhance the frequency stability of the space cold atom clock with the advantages of a microgravity environment. Clock working processes, including atom cooling, atomic state preparation,microwave interrogation, and transition probability detection, are integrated into the cylindrical microwave cavity to achieve a high-performance and compact physics package for the space cold atom clock. We present the detailed design and ground-test results of the cold atom clock physics package in this article, which demonstrates a frequency stability of 1.2×10^(-12) τ^(-1/2) with a Ramsey linewidth of 12.5 Hz, and a better performance is predicted with a 1 Hz or a narrower Ramsey linewidth in microgravity environment. The miniaturized cold atom clock based on intracavity cooling has great potential for achieving space high-precision time-frequency reference in the future.

Performance Analysis of Curved Track G2T-FSO(Ground-to-Train Free Space Optical)Model under Various Weather Conditions

The demand for broadband data services on high-speed trains is rapidly growing as more people commute between their homes and workplaces.However,current radio frequency(RF)technology cannot adequately meet this demand.In order to address the bandwidth constraint,a technique known as free space optics(FSO)has been proposed.This paper presents a mathematical derivation and formulation of curve track G2T-FSO(Ground-to-train Free Space Optical)model,where the track radius characteristics is 2667 m,divergence angle track is 1.5°for train velocity at V=250 km/h.Multiple transmitter configurations are proposed to maximize coverage range and enhance curve track G2T-FSO link performance under varying weather conditions.The curved track G2T-FSO model was evaluated in terms of received power,signal-to-noise ratio(SNR),bit error rate(BER),and eye diagrams.The results showed maximum coverage lengths of 618,505,365,and 240 m for 4Tx/1Rx,3Tx/1Rx,2Tx/1Rx,and 1Tx/1Rx configurations,respectively.The analyzed results demonstrate that the G2T-FSO link can be effectively implemented under various weather conditions.

A proposal for detecting weak electromagnetic waves around 2.6μm wavelength with Sr optical clock

Infrared signal detection is widely used in many fields.Due to the detection principle,however,the accuracy and range of detection are limited.Thanks to the ultra stability of the^(87)Sr optical lattice clock,external infrared electromagnetic wave disturbances can be responded to.Utilizing the ac Stark shift of the clock transition,we propose a new method to detect infrared signals.According to our calculations,the theoretical detection accuracy in the vicinity of its resonance band of 2.6μm can reach the order of 10-14W,while the minimum detectable signal of common detectors is on the order of 10^(-10)W.

Multiple wavelength frequency stabilization with a single transfer cavity for mercury optical lattice clock

A simple and robust multiple wavelength frequency stabilization system is demonstrated using a single transfer cavity and a1062-nm ultra-stable laser for all the lasers used in a mercury optical lattice clock.Offset sideband locking is employed to tune the laser frequency while dichroic mirrors and differentiated modulation frequencies are utilized for the Pound–Drever–Hall locking of four-color lasers.For the most demanding lasers at 1015 nm and 725 nm,the line width of the beat note is reduced to 27 kHz and 17 kHz,respectively.The frequency fluctuation for the transfer-locked 1015-nm laser is less than 10 kHz,which is much better than the lasers locked to an atomic spectrum.Using its high stability of 5×10^(-12)over100 s,the transfer-locked 1015-nm laser is employed for low-noise frequency modulated saturated absorption spectroscopy.This approach could also be used in various situations for the research of optical clocks,Rydberg atoms,laser cooling of molecules,and quantum computation with neutral atoms.

Strontium optical lattice clock at the National Time Service Center

We report the 87Sr optical lattice clock developed at the National Time Service Center. We achieved a closed-loop operation of the optical lattice clock based on 87Sr atoms. The linewidth of the spin-polarized clock peak is 3.9 Hz with a clock laser pulse length of 300 ms, which corresponds to a Fourier-limited linewidth of 3 Hz. The fitting of the in-loop error signal data shows that the instability is approximately 5 × 10 15τ-1/2, affected primarily by the white noise. The fractional frequency difference averages down to 5.7 × 10 ^-17 for an averaging time of 3000 s.

A transportable optical lattice clock at the National Time Service Center

We report a transportable one-dimensional optical lattice clock based on 87Sr at the National Time Service Center.The transportable apparatus consists of a compact vacuum system and compact optical subsystems.The vacuum system with a size of 90 cm×20 cm×42 cm and the beam distributors are assembled on a double-layer optical breadboard.The modularized optical subsystems are integrated on independent optical breadboards.By using a 230 ms clock laser pulse,spin-polarized spectroscopy with a linewidth of 4.8 Hz is obtained which is close to the 3.9 Hz Fourier-limit linewidth.The time interleaved self-comparison frequency instability is determined to be 6.3 × 10^-17 at an averaging time of 2000 s.

Clock-transition spectrum of ^(171)Yb atoms in a one-dimensional optical lattice

An optical atomic clock with 171yb atoms is devised and tested. By using a two-stage Doppler cooling technique, the 171Yb atoms are cooled down to a temperature of 6 ± 3 μK, which is close to the Doppler limit. Then, the cold 171Yb atoms are loaded into a one-dimensional optical lattice with a wavelength of 759 nm in the Lamb-Dicke regime. Furthermore, these cold 171yb atoms are excited from the ground-state 1S0 to the excited-state 3P0 by a clock laser with a wavelength of 578 nm. Finally, the 1S0-3P0 clock-transition spectrum of these 171yb atoms is obtained by measuring the dependence of the population of the ground-state 1 S0 upon the clock-laser detuning.

Review on strategies of space-based optical space situational awareness

Space-based optical(SBO)space surveillance has attracted widespread interest in the last two decades due to its considerable value in space situation awareness(SSA).SBO observation strategy,which is related to the performance of space surveillance,is the top-level design in SSA missions reviewed.The recognized real programs about SBO SAA proposed by the institutions in the U.S.,Canada,Europe,etc.,are summarized firstly,from which an insight of the development trend of SBO SAA can be obtained.According to the aim of the SBO SSA,the missions can be divided into general surveillance and space object tracking.Thus,there are two major categories for SBO SSA strategies.Existing general surveillance strategies for observing low earth orbit(LEO)objects and beyond-LEO objects are summarized and compared in terms of coverage rate,revisit time,visibility period,and image processing.Then,the SBO space object tracking strategies,which has experienced from tracking an object with a single satellite to tracking an object with multiple satellites cooperatively,are also summarized.Finally,this paper looks into the development trend in the future and points out several problems that challenges the SBO SSA.

Study of optical clocks based on ultracold ^171Yb atoms

The optical atomic clocks have the potential to transform global timekeeping,relying on the state-of-the-art accuracy and stability,and greatly improve the measurement precision for a wide range of scientific and technological applications.Herein we report on the development of the optical clock based on 171Yb atoms confined in an optical lattice.A minimum width of 1.92-Hz Rabi spectra has been obtained with a new 578-nm clock interrogation laser.The in-loop fractional instability of the 171Yb clock reaches 9.1×10-18 after an averaging over a time of 2.0×104 s.By synchronous comparison between two clocks,we demonstrate that our 171Yb optical lattice clock achieves a fractional instability of 4.60×10-16/√τ.

First Evaluation and Frequency Measurement of the Strontium Optical Lattice Clock at NIM

An optical lattice clock based on 87Sr is built at National Institute of Metrology （NIM） of China. The systematic frequency shifts of the clock are evaluated with a total uncertainty of 2.3×10-16. To measure its absolute frequency with respect to NIM＇s cesium fountain clock NIM5, the frequency of a flywheel H-maser of NIM5 is transferred to the Sr laboratory through a 50-kin-long fiber. reference frequency of this H-maser, is used for the optical this Sr clock is measured to be 429228004229873.7（1.4）Hz. A fiber optical frequency comb, phase-locked to the frequency measurement. The absolute frequency of

A survey of free space optical networks

Free Space Optical （FSO） networks, also known as optical wireless networks, have emerged as viable candidates for broadband wireless communications in the near future. The range of the potential application of FSO networks is extensive, from home to satellite. However, FSO networks have not been popularized because of insufficient availability and reliability. Researchers have focused on the problems in the physical layer in order to exploit the properties of wireless optical channels. However, recent technological developments with successful results make it practical to explore the advantages of the high bandwidth. Some researchers have begun to focus on the problems of network and upper layers in FSO networks. In this survey, we classify prospective global FSO networks into three subnetworks and give an account of them. We also present state-of- the-art research and discuss what kinds of challenges exist.

Magic Wavelength Measurement of the ^(87)Sr Optical Lattice Clock at NIM

We report on the magic wavelength measurement of our optical lattice clock based on fermion strontium atoms at the National Institute of Metrology （NIM）. A Ti：sapphire solid state laser locked to a reference cavity inside a temperature-stabilized vacuum chamber is employed to generate the optical lattice. The laser frequency is measured by an erbium fiber frequency comb. The trap depth is modulated by varying the lattice laser power via an acousto-optic modulator. We obtain the frequency shift coefficient at this lattice wavelength by measuring the diffbrential frequency shift of the clock transition of the strontium atoms at different trap depths, and the frequency shift coefficient at this lattice wavelength is obtained. We measure the frequency shift coefficients at different lattice frequencies around the magic wavelength and linearly fit the measurement data, and the magic wavelength is calculated to be 368554672（44）MHz.

Control of period-one oscillation for all-optical clock division and clock recovery by optical pulse injection driven semiconductor laser

The period-one oscillation produced by an external optical pulse injection driven semiconductor laser is applied to clock recovery and frequency division. By adjusting the repetition rate or injection power of the external injection optical pulses to lock the different harmonic frequencies of the period-one state, the clock recovery and the frequency division （the second and third frequency divisions） are achieved experimentally. In addition, in frequency locking ranges of 2 GHz and 1.9 GHz, the second and third frequency divisions are obtained with the phase noise lower than 100 dBc/Hz, respectively. Our experimental results are consistent well with the numerical simulations.

Automatic compensation of magnetic field for a rubidium space cold atom clock

When the cold atom clock operates in microgravity around the near-earth orbit, its performance will be affected by the fluctuation of magnetic field. A strategy is proposed to suppress the fluctuation of magnetic field by additional coils, whose current is changed accordingly to compensate the magnetic fluctuation by the linear and incremental compensation. The flight model of the cold atom clock is tested in a simulated orbital magnetic environment and the magnetic field fluctuation in the Ramsey cavity is reduced from 17 nT to 2 nT, which implied the uncertainty due to the second order Zeeman shift is reduced to be less than 2×10^（-16）. In addition, utilizing the compensation, the magnetic field in the trapping zone can be suppressed from 7.5 μT to less than 0.3 μT to meet the magnetic field requirement of polarization gradients cooling of atoms.

Physics of Clocks in Absolute Space-Time

20th century physics experimentally established beyond doubt the fact that moving clocks read differently from “static” clocks. This fact is typically interpreted as support for special relativity. On the other hand, the same century produced proof that clocks at various locations in the gravitational field also read differently, and this fact is explained by general relativity, which is, in general, not Lorentz transformable. This paper establishes a common framework for the physics of clocks in these different situations.

Space radiation effect on fibre optical gyroscope control circuit and compensation algorithm

The process of a γ-irradiation experiment of fibre optical gyroscope （FOG） control circuit was described, in which it is demonstrated that the FOG control circuit, except for D/A converter, could endure the dose of 10krad with the protection of cabin material. The distortion and drift in D/A converter due to radiation, which affect the performance of FOG seriously, was indicated based on the elemental analysis. Finally, a compensation network based on adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system is proposed and its function is verified by simulation.

Optical Design and Stray Light Analysis of the Space Infrared Optical System

This article describes a novel configuration design for a re-imaging off-axis catadioptric space infrared optical system,and in order to satisfy the signal noise ratio requirements of the system,the stray light of the system is necessary to analyze and restrain. The optical system with a focal length of 1 200 mm,an entrance pupil diameter of 600 mm,an F-number of 2,a field of view of 3°× 0. 15°,a working wave band of 8 μm-10 μm,and the image quality of the optical system almost approach to diffraction limits in all field of view.Then the mathematical models of stray light are built,and the suppressive structure is established to eliminate the effect of stray light. Finally,TraceP ro is used to analyze and simulate stray light with and without the suppressive structure,and also get the results of the PST curves. The results indicate that appropriate optical system and suppressive structure can highly reduce the stray light of the space infrared optical system.

Interrogation of optical Ramsey spectrum and stability study of an ^(87)Sr optical lattice clock

The optical Ramsey spectrum is experimentally realized in an ^(87)Sr optical lattice clock, and the measured linewidth agrees well with theoretical expectation. The coherence time between the clock laser and the atoms, which indicates the maximum free evolution period of using Ramsey detection to measure the atom-laser phase information, is determined as 340(23) ms by measuring the fringe contrasts of the Ramsey spectrum as a function of the free evolution period. Furthermore, with the same clock duty cycle of about 0.1, the clock stability is measured by using the Ramsey and Rabi spectra,respectively. The experimental and theoretical results show approximately the same stability as the two detection methods, which indicates that Ramsey detection cannot obviously improve the clock stability until the clock duty cycle is large enough. Thus, it is of great significance to choose the detection method of a specific clock.

Quantum-dot Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers in State Space Model

A state space model(SSM) is derived for quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifiers(QD-SOAs).Rate equations of QD-SOA are formulated in the form of state update equations,where average occupation probabilities along QD-SOA cavity are considered as state variables of the system.Simulations show that SSM calculates QD-SOA′s static and dynamic characteristics with high accuracy.