An experimental study of intermodulation effects in an atomic fountain frequency standard

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dc.creatorGuéna, Jocelyne
dc.creatorDudle, Gregor
dc.creatorThomann, Pierre
dc.date2007-02-20
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T08:20:03Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T08:20:03Z
dc.descriptionThe short-term stability of passive atomic frequency standards, especially in pulsed operation, is often limited by local oscillator noise via intermodulation effects. We present an experimental demonstration of the intermodulation effect on the frequency stability of a continuous atomic fountain clock where, under normal operating conditions, it is usually too small to observe. To achieve this, we deliberately degrade the phase stability of the microwave field interrogating the clock transition. We measure the frequency stability of the locked, commercial-grade local oscillator, for two modulation schemes of the microwave field: square-wave phase modulation and square-wave frequency modulation. We observe a degradation of the stability whose dependence with the modulation frequency reproduces the theoretical predictions for the intermodulation effect. In particular no observable degradation occurs when this frequency equals the Ramsey linewidth. Additionally we show that, without added phase noise, the frequency instability presently equal to 2x10-13 at 1s, is limited by atomic shot-noise and therefore could be reduced were the atomic flux increased.
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0702164
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0702164
dc.identifierEuropean Physical Journal Applied Physics, 388 (30/05/2007) 183-189
dc.identifierdoi:10.1051/epjap:2007072
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/134970
dc.subjectAtomic Physics
dc.subjectInstrumentation and Detectors
dc.titleAn experimental study of intermodulation effects in an atomic fountain frequency standard
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