Magneto-optic rotation detection scheme for miniaturized coherent population trapping atomic clock.

Abstract

In order to suppress the effects of carrier and high-order sidebands on the coherent population trapping (CPT) signal, a scheme of interaction between an elliptically polarized beam and alkali atoms using the magneto-optic rotation detection is examined. By canceling the spin-polarized dark state in the CPT state preparation, a CPT resonance signal with a contrast of 32.5% is obtained. Our scheme requires minor modifications of the optical path in the prevalent scheme, and the short-term frequency stability of our scheme is five times better than that of the prevalent scheme, making it ideal for miniaturized CPT atomic clock applications.