Mainz 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm
Bereiche | Tage | Auswahl | Suche | Aktualisierungen | Downloads | Hilfe
Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 50: Matter Wave Interferometry and Metrology II
Q 50.3: Vortrag
Donnerstag, 5. März 2026, 11:30–11:45, P 11
An industrial single-ion optical frequency standard with a systematic uncertainty below 2× 10−17 — Axel Friedenauer1, •Pierre Thoumany1, Christoph Tresp1, Daniel Heinrich1, Saaswath Jeyalathaa Karthikeyan2, Burghardt Lipphardt2, Nils Huntemann2, Stephan Ritter1, and Jürgen Stuhler1 — 1TOPTICA Photonics SE, Gräfelfing, Germany — 2Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig, Germany
Rapid advances in research on optical frequency standards (OFS) have enabled ultra-precise instruments and plans for a redefinition of the second. While most of the current OFS are highly specialized laboratory systems, development of commercially available optical clocks that are robust and transportable with high uptime and high performance is crucial for applications such as timing, geodesy and navigation. Building on the expertise obtained within the funded research project opticlock, we present here a commercial OFS prototype, TOPTICLOCK, based on the 2S1/2 (F=0) → 2D3/2 (F=2) electric quadrupole transition (E2) at 435.5 nm of a single 171Yb+ ion and contained in two 19" racks. The OFS has been transported to the German metrology institute PTB in June 2025 for a full metrological evaluation within the EU project Qu-Test. In comparison with the more stable optical frequency standard PTB-Yb1E3, using a difference frequency comb (TOPTICA DFC) a frequency instability of 5×10−15 /√τ with a total systematic uncertainty below 2× 10−17 of the OFS was demonstrated. Even for averaging times beyond 105 s, the system shows white frequency noise behavior.
Keywords: Optical clocks; Trapped ions; Frequency comb; Ultra-stable laser; Industrial system