CPT pulse excitation method based on VCSEL current modulation for miniature atomic clocks

We propose a coherent population trapping (CPT) pulsed-excitation method based on direct drive-current modulation of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting LASER for miniature atomic clocks (MACs). Because our method needs only a simple device configuration without optical external modulators, it is suitable for MACs, including chip-scale atomic-clocks. Reducing the size, cost, and power consumption is also possible. Additionally, we report on experimental results for Ramsey-CPT fringes excited using the proposed method.