Not only scientific experiments require accurate time and frequency references: many industrial applications, such as satellite navigation, aerospace and advanced manufacturing, need timing systems that combine good metrological performance with compactness, reliability and low power consumption.
In this laboratory INRiM develops cell-based atomic clocks targeting these Size-Weight-and-Power (SWaP) constraints. The activity includes a hydrogen maser based on coherent-population trapping (CPT) and a pulsed optically-pumped rubidium clock (POP) that achieves an instability of about 1×10⁻¹⁵ at 10000 s of averaging.
Current work focuses on engineering these devices so they are compatible with industrial requirements, including space applications. Particular attention is devoted to low-noise electronic synthesis chains, frequency distribution and control loops, as well as to the digitization of the full electronic platform to improve robustness, maintainability and reproducibility. Miniaturization work continues on the Rb optical sample in a vapor cell, strengthening the pathway toward compact and deployable clock architectures.
The laboratory provides a test environment for characterizing stability, drift and sensitivity to environmental perturbations (temperature, magnetic field, vibration and power supply). These results feed back into design choices for physics packages, optics and electronics, with the goal of delivering clocks that are both traceable and deployable.
Cell-based clocks developed here also act as enabling components for distributed timing systems: they can serve as local holdover oscillators for network synchronization, support calibration of timing receivers, and provide portable references for field measurements. The activity bridges atomic physics and engineering, covering the full chain from spectroscopy and optical pumping to electronics integration and system qualification.
Results from this laboratory contribute to INRiM’s broader program on compact and integrated clocks, including chip-scale solutions based on micro-fabricated cells and micro-resonator technologies.