A three-dimensional model of the gas cell atomic frequency standard

Abstract

Initial calculations from a three-dimensional (3-D) model of the gas cell atomic frequency standard are discussed. In particular, a recent suggestion that the short-term stability of a gas cell standard might be improved by varying the microwave power is considered. Though the authors' results generally support the previous conclusion, they show that the degree of sensitivity is less than that predicted by one-dimensional (1-D) gas-cell frequency-standard model. This difference in predicted sensitivity is a manifestation of the three-dimensional model's more accurate treatment of the clock-cavity microwave field distribution. The more accurate treatment is highlighted by the three-dimensional model's determination of isoefficiency contours (contours showing spatial regions in the clock cavity that have equal efficiency for producing clock signal), and noting their spatial dependence on microwave power.

The ac stark shift and space-borne rubidium atomic clocks

“…1 the spectrum of the light from the ICP will be modified on passage through the filter cell, [17][18][19] and will also be affected by passage through the vapor of the resonance cell. 24 Thus, if we consider the atomic signal of the clock as generated within some local region of the resonance cell, 25,26 we can express the actual light shift of the clock in terms of a light-intensity attenuation factor after passage through the filter cell g, an attenuation factor for light propagation from the front of the resonance cell to the atomicsignal generating region n, and a normalized ICP Rb light spectrum in the resonance cell S(x)…”