ONR Unveils A 'Matchbox' Atomic Clock

By Roland Piquepaille

In October 2003, the Office of Naval Research will unveil a miniature atomic clock which will be used by the Navy for ship or plane navigation and missile guidance.

The Ultra-miniature Rubidium (Rb) Atomic Clock, 40 cubic centimeters in volume and using a minuscule one watt of power, doesn't weigh much more than a matchbox either. And it will lose only about one second every 10,000 years.
Dr. John Kim, who oversees navigation and timekeeping technology programs at ONR, points out that while commercial atomic clocks already are available, they're relatively large and bulky. A typical Cesium beam atomic clock measures about 4,800 cubic centimeters in volume (about the size of a large backpack) and consumes up to 50 watts of power.

Here is a small image of Dr. John Kim with the new ultra-miniature Rubidium atomic clock (Credit: ONR).

ONR's new atomic clock

[Note: A high-resolution version of this image (1600 x 1200 pixels) is available from EurekAlert!.]

Kernco, Inc., the company manufacturing the device, is already working on a 10 cubic centimeters atomic clock.

The Kernco laser-based Ultra-miniature Rubidium Atomic Clock that is entirely optical in nature, a key breakthrough for miniaturizing atomic clocks. The laser light source is derived from a revolutionary technology breakthrough called Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL), developed to meet the needs of fiber-optic communications industry for extremely compact lasers.

Source: Office of Naval Research News release, September 2, 2003


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