COALESCe - TSB Quantum Tech Project with Fraunhofer CAP and M Squared Lasers.COmpAct Light Engines for Strontium Clocks

Project: Research

Project Details

Description

"A large number of applications, including those in research, defence, and finance require compact optical clocks that retain
their accuracy and reliability for lower costs and footprints than existing systems. Optical clocks are capable of better
stability and lower uncertainty than the current standard of time; however, each clock requires a range of lasers with
demanding requirements specific to the atomic species at the heart of the clock. Neutral strontium is one of the most
widely used atoms. It has a key transition that must be addressed using a laser source with emission wavelength at 461nm,
power 1W and linewidth (spectral purity) 32MHz. Currently researchers must use expensive or inadequate laser
sources to meet these requirements. In this project we will meet all the above requirements of neutral strontium in a low
cost, compact system based on semiconductor disk laser (SDL) technology. The advantageous properties of SDLs for
tunable, narrow linewidth operation have previously been demonstrated in the laboratory; however, their potential to
address wavelengths of interest for optical clocks, and moreover to achieve this in a compact commercial format, have yet
to be realised. We will engineer a stabilised, narrow linewidth 922nm SDL with frequency doubling to 461nm within the
cost and volume parameters required for strontium optical clock-based systems to emerge from the research laboratory
and address applications in the field."

Description

COALESCe - TSB Quantum Tech Project with Fraunhofer CAP and M Squared Lasers. COmpAct Light Engines for Strontium Clocks
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/05/1531/10/16

Funding

  • EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council): £15,313.00

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