1,720,967 research outputs found
Avoiding Aliasing in Allan Variance: An Application to Fiber Link Data Analysis
Full text linkOptical fiber links are known as the most performing tools to transfer ultrastable frequency reference signals. However, these signals are affected by phase noise up to bandwidths of several kilohertz and a careful data processing strategy is required to properly estimate the uncertainty. This aspect is often overlooked and a number of approaches have been proposed to implicitly deal with it. Here, we face this issue in terms of aliasing and show how typical tools of signal analysis can be adapted to the evaluation of optical fiber links performance. In this way, it is possible to use the Allan variance (AVAR) as estimator of stability and there is no need to introduce other estimators. The general rules we derive can be extended to all optical links. As an example, we apply this method to the experimental data we obtained on a 1284-km coherent optical link for frequency dissemination, which we realized in Italy
Laser-frequency stabilization using light shift in compact atomic clocks
Full text linkThis paper describes the light-shift laser-lock (LSLL) technique, an alternative method intended for laser-based compact atomic clocks. The technique greatly simplifies the laser setup by stabilizing the pumping-laser frequency to the same atoms involved in the clock operation, without the need of an external reference. By alternating two clock sequences, the method estimates and cancels out a controlled amount of induced light shift, acting on the laser frequency. The LSLL technique is compatible with state-of-the-art three-level clocks and was demonstrated with field-programmable-gate-array-based electronics on a pulsed-optically-pumped vapor-cell clock developed at INRIM. The results have shown that the LSLL technique operates robustly, having a capture range of gigahertz without significantly compromising clock stability. In our tests, the clock exhibited a white frequency noise of 3.2×10-13τ-1/2 for averaging times τ up to 4000 s, reaching a floor below 1×10-14 up to 100 000 s. This level of performance meets the requirements of future global navigation satellite systems on-board clocks, adding the benefits of a reduced clock footprint, as well as increased reliability and robustness
Kr-based buffer gas for Rb vapor-cell clocks
Full text linkOptically pumped Rb vapor cell clocks are by far the most used devices for timekeeping in all ground and space applications. The compactness and the robustness of this technology make Rb clocks extremely well fit to a large number of applications including GNSS, telecommunication and network synchronization. Many efforts are devoted to improve the stability of Rb clocks and reduce their environmental sensitivity. In this paper, we investigate the use of a novel mixture of buffer gas based on Kr and N2, capable of reducing by more than one order of magnitude the barometric and temperature sensitivities of the clock, with possible improvement of their long-term stability
Intensity detection noise in pulsed vapor cell frequency standards
Full text linkLaser intensity noise is currently recognized as one of the main factors limiting the short-term stability of vapor-cell clocks. In this paper, we propose a signal theory approach to estimate the contribution of the laser intensity fluctuations to the short-term stability of vapor-cell clocks working in pulsed regime. Specifically, given a laser intensity noise spectrum, an analytical expression is derived to evaluate its impact onto the clock Allan deviation. The theory has been tested for two intensity noise spectra of interest in clock applications: white frequency noise and flicker noise. The predicted results turn out in good agreement with experiments performed with a prototype of pulsed optically pumped (POP) Rb cell clock and can be extended to other compact clocks
Loaded microwave cavity for compact vapor-cell clocks
Full text linkVapor-cell devices based on microwave interrogation provide a stable frequency reference with a compact and robust setup. Further miniaturization must focus on optimizing the physics package, containing the microwave cavity and atomic reservoir. In this paper, we present a compact cavity-cell assembly based on a dielectric-loaded cylindrical resonator. The loaded cavity resonating at 6.83 GHz has an external volume of only 35 cm3 and accommodates a vapor cell with 0.9 cm3 inner volume. The proposed design aims at strongly reducing the core of the atomic clock, maintaining at the same time high-performing short-term stability (sigmay(tau)≤5*10-13 tau-1/2 standard Allan deviation). The proposed structure is characterized in terms of microwave field uniformity and atom-field coupling with the aid of finite-elements calculations. The thermal sensitivity is also analyzed and experimentally characterized. We present preliminary spectroscopy results by integrating the compact cavity within a rubidium clock setup based on the pulsed optically pumping technique. The obtained clock signals are compatible with the targeted performances. The loaded-cavity approach is thus a viable design option for miniaturized microwave clocks
Realization of a pulsed optically pumped Rb clock with a frequency stability below 10 - 15
Full text linkAbstract We present the frequency stability performances of a vapor cell Rb clock based on the pulsed optically pumping (POP) technique. The clock has been developed in the frame of a collaboration between INRIM and Leonardo SpA, aiming to realize a space-qualified POP frequency standard. The results here reported were obtained with an engineered physics package, specifically designed for space applications, joint to laboratory-grade optics and electronics. The measured frequency stability expressed in terms of Allan deviation is 1.2 × 10 - 13 at 1s and achieves the value of 6 × 10 - 16 for integration times of 40000 s (drift removed). This is, to our knowledge, a record result for a vapor-cell frequency standard. In the paper, we show that in order to get this result, a careful stabilization of microwave and laser pulses is required
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Preliminary characterization of a Rb Pulsed Optically Pumped clock for space applications
No full text- …
