Study of laser-pumped double-resonance clock signals using a microfabricated cell

Abstract

We present our microwave spectroscopic studies on laser–microwave double-resonance (DR) signals obtained from a micro-fabricated Rb vapor cell. This study focuses on the characteristics and systematic shifts of the ground-state ‘clock transition’ in 87Rb (| Fg = 1,mF = 0⟩ → |Fg = 2, mF = 0⟩) used in Rb atomic clocks, and represents a first step toward a miniature atomic clock based on the DR scheme. A short-term clock instability below 2 × 1011τ−1/2 is demonstrated, staying below 10−11 up to τ = 104 s.