Rugged, Compact Atomic Clock Laser with a Path Toward Flight Qualification

Optical atomic clocks are more frequency stable than any other atomic clock system.nbsp; Deploying these atomic clocks to remote locations would permit exploration of relativistic geodesy, general relativity, and tests of variations of fundamental constants.nbsp; These optical atomic clocks require a highly frequency stable clock probe laser with fractional frequency instabilities of less than 1x10-14.nbsp; Unfortunately, these types of laser systems are currently limited to laboratory use due to size, power consumption, and the electronics required to support the operation of such lasers.nbsp; The development of a compact frequency stable atomic clock probe laser with low SWaP would permit the development of optical atomic clocks capable of being deployed in the field.