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A 12‐GHz Standard Clock on Trapped Ytterbium Ions
Author(s) -
Casdorff R.,
Enders V.,
Blatt R.,
Neuhauser W.,
Toschek P. E.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
annalen der physik
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1521-3889
pISSN - 0003-3804
DOI - 10.1002/andp.19915030105
Subject(s) - ytterbium , hyperfine structure , frequency standard , atomic clock , atomic physics , ion , physics , standard deviation , caesium , microwave , resonance (particle physics) , optics , laser , quantum mechanics , nuclear physics , statistics , mathematics
The ground‐state hyperfine transition Δ m F = 0 of trapped Yb + ions has been measured as 12642812119.6 (0.4) Hz. The frequency instability of a microwave, controlled by this resonance, is characterised by the standard deviation 2·10 −11 · (τ/sec) −1/2 , where τ is the time separation of probes. The performance of this frequency standard or “clock” exceeds the stability of commercial cesium clocks and still offers major potential for improvement.