Tiqker Space Duty Acceleration

Atomic clocks based on optical transitions in atomic vapor cells have emerged as an alternative to conventional microwave clocks, such as cesium beam clocks and hydrogen masers, offering pathways to substantially improved precision, holdover, SWaP, and fieldability. One of the first such products is Infleqtion’s Tiqker Prime optical atomic clock, which has demonstrated <10-13 fractional frequency stability at 1s and preliminary drift estimates as low as 10-15 per day. This level of performance is attractive for next-generation GNSS constellations, replacing currently deployed hydrogen masers and rubidium atomic frequency standards. In the proposed work, a path towards space qualification will be developed. A requirements analysis will be conducted to flow down from performance, integration, and environmental requirements for GNSS satellites to system- and subsystem-level requirements. Two critical technology elements, the physics package and clock laser, will be miniaturized and ruggedized, incorporating recent successes from similar Infleqtion R&D efforts into the Tiqker design. A third element, the vapor cell, will undergo manufacturing improvements to improve yield, reduce cost, and validate long-term reliability. The output of the program will include a design for a ruggedized Tiqker flight model and identification of any critical gaps which must be addressed by further R&D efforts prior to space qualification.