171Yb+ Microwave Clock for Military and Commercial Applications

Abstract

Ion traps are a rugged, proven technology that supports high-performance and manufacturable time keeping solutions. Our approach to this implementation is based on the 12.6 GHz hyperfine transition of 171Yb+ ions confined in a linear Paul trap. We report an instability of $6\times 10^{-13} \tau^{-1/2}$ up to averaging time $\tau=100\ \mathrm{s}$ in the presence of buffer gas, which is a 40% improvement from our previous report. The ion trap is implemented in a 2U-compatible enclosure, which is characterized by ion storage times >95 days and Allan deviation down to $4 \times 10^{-15}$ at $\tau=2\times 10^{5}\ \mathrm{s}$.