Laser light routing in an elongated micromachined vapor cell with diffraction gratings for atomic clock applications

International audienceThis paper reports on an original architecture of microfabricated alkali vapor cell designed for miniature atomic clocks. The cell combines diffraction gratings with anisotropically etched single-crystalline silicon sidewalls to route a normally-incident beam in a cavity oriented along the substrate plane. Gratings have been specifically designed to diffract circularly polarized light in the first order, the latter having an angle of diffraction matching the (111) sidewalls orientation. Then, the length of the cavity where light interacts with alkali atoms can be extended. We demonstrate that a longer cell allows to reduce the beam diameter, while preserving the clock performances. As the cavity depth and the beam diameter are reduced, collimation can be performed in a tighter space. This solution relaxes the constraints on the device packaging and is suitable for wafer-level assembly. Several cells have been fabricated and characterized in a clock setup using coherent population trapping spectroscopy. The measured signals exhibit null power linewidths down to 2.23 kHz and high transmission contrasts up to 17%. A high contrast-to-linewidth ratio is found at a linewidth of 4.17 kHz and a contrast of 5.2% in a 7-mm-long cell despite a beam diameter reduced to 600 μm

CONCEPTION, TECHNOLOGIE ET PACKAGING DE CELLULES À VAPEUR DE CÉSIUM POUR LES HORLOGES ATOMIQUES DE TYPE MEMS

Atomic clocks are nowadays among the most accurate time and frequency standards, and are used, e.g.,for international time distribution service or in global navigation satellite systems. During the last severalyears, based on reliable and well-stabilized microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology and onthe availability of lasers on chip (single-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser; VCSEL),considerable work has been performed by different groups around the world to develop miniaturizedversion of atomic clocks, called MEMS atomic clocks (MAC) or chip scale atomic clocks (CSAC).The goal of this thesis was to design and develop the technology of Cs vapor cells along with thermalanalysis for the thermal management of fully packaged Cs vapor cell for MEMS atomic clock. This workhas been carried-out in the framework of European project “MEMS atomic clock for timing, frequencycontrol and communication” (MAC-TFC). Two different architectures of Cs vapor cell have beenconsidered. The first one operates on the transmission of light through the cell and thus the Cs-vapor, andis called transmissive cell or T-cell. Such T-cell is made of silicon based deep-cavities sandwichedbetween two borosilicate glass wafers. For their fabrication, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) process hasbeen optimized in order to produce smooth enough side walls of silicon cavities. In addition, specificanodic bonding process has been developed to fill the cavities with buffer gas at the required pressure.Second version of Cs vapor cell is based on the reflection of laser light inside the KOH etched siliconcavity sealed by one borosilicate glass wafer and is called reflective cell or R-cell. R-cells, as an advantageover the T-cells, allow e.g. a longer interaction of light/atom inside the Cs cavity, whereas location ofoptical source and detection elements on the same side of cell leads to better clock compactness. For theirfabrication, wet KOH etching, employed to realize the cavities inside the silicon with near mirror like(111) planes, has been studied and optimized. Further, diffraction gratings for routing of circularlypolarized light have been designed, fabricated and integrated on top of the Cs vapor R-cell. In bothversions of Cs vapor cells, our goal was to simplify the related clock assembly by doing maximumintegration and alignment at the wafer level, thanks to refractive and diffractive micro-optical componentswhile thermal analysis has been also performed for the thermal management of fully packaged Cs vaporcell (transmissive one) based on the Low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTTC) packaging.Les horloges atomiques sont de nos jours parmi les normes de temps et de fréquences les plus précises etsont utilisées, par exemple, pour les services de distributions travaillant à l'heure internationale ou pour lessystèmes de navigation globaux par satellite. Au cours des dernières années, un travail considérable a étéaccompli par différents groupes à travers le monde pour développer une version miniaturisée des horlogesatomiques, basée sur la technologie des systèmes microélectromécaniques qui est fiable, bien stabilisée etsur la disponibilité de lasers sur puces (diode laser monomode à cavité verticale émettant par la surface ouVCSEL : Vertical-Cavity surface emitting Laser). Ce type d'horloge atomique est appelé horloge atomiqueMEMS ou horloge atomique sur puce (CSAC : Chip Scale Atomic Clocks).L'objectif de cette thèse était de concevoir et développer la technologie des cellules à vapeur de Césium(Cs) ainsi qu’une analyse thermique pour sa gestion thermique lorsqu’elle est complètement packagéepour les horloges atomiques MEMS. Ce travail a été réalisé dans le cadre du projet européen "MEMSatomic clock for timing, frequency control and communication" (MAC-TFC). Deux conceptionsdifférentes de la cellule à vapeur de Cs ont été considérées. La première est basée sur la transmission de lalumière à travers la cellule et donc au travers de la vapeur de Cs et est appelée cellule transmissive ou T-cell. Ces T-cells sont réalisées à base de cavités profondes générées dans du silicium et prises en sandwichentre deux wafers de verre borosilicaté. Pour leur fabrication, le processus de gravure profonde par ionsréactifs (DRIE-Deep reactive ion etching) a été optimisé afin de produire des cavités dans le silicium dontles parois soient suffisamment lisses. De plus, le procédé de soudure anodique a été développé pourremplir les cavités avec du gaz tampon à la pression requise. La deuxième version de la cellule à vapeurde Cs est basée sur la réflection de la lumière du laser à l'intérieur des cavités gravées dans le silicium parKOH et scellées par un wafer de verre borosilicaté. Cette cellule est appelée cellule réfléchissante ou R-cell. Les R-cells permettent, par rapport aux T-cells, une interaction lumière/atome plus longue dans lescavités contenant du Cs, tandis que la localisation de la source optique et des éléments de détection dumême côté de la cellule permet la réalisation d’une horloge plus compacte. Pour leur fabrication, lagravure humide par KOH, employée pour générer les cavités à l'intérieur du silicium avec des parois dontla surface est proche de celle d’un miroir (111), a été étudiée et optimisée. De plus, les réseaux dediffraction pour le guidage de la lumière polarisée circulairement ont été conçus, fabriqués et intégrés surla partie supérieure de la R-cell à vapeur de Cs. Pour les deux versions des cellules à vapeur de Cs, notreobjectif était de simplifier l'assemblage relatif à l'horloge en faisant un maximum d'intégration et d'alignement à l'échelle du wafer, grâce à des composants micro-optiques réfractifs et diffractifs. Une analyse thermique a aussi été effectuée pour la gestion thermique de la cellule à vapeur de Cs complètement packagée (T-cell) à base de céramiques cofrittée à basse température (LTCC : Lowtemperature Co-fired ceramics)

A chip-scale atomic beam clock

Atomic beams are a longstanding technology for atom-based sensors and clocks with widespread use in commercial frequency standards. Here, we report the demonstration a chip-scale microwave atomic beam clock using coherent population trapping (CPT) interrogation in a passively pumped atomic beam device. The beam device consists of a hermetically sealed vacuum cell fabricated from an anodically bonded stack of glass and Si wafers. Atomic beams are created using a lithographically defined microcapillary array connected to a Rb reservoir1 and propagate in a 15 mm long drift cavity. We present a detailed characterization of the atomic beam performance (total Rb flux $\approx 7.7 \times 10^{11} s^{-1}$ at 363 K device temperature) and of the vacuum environment in the device (pressure < 1 Pa), which is sustained using getter materials which pump residual gases and Rb vapor. A chip-scale beam clock is realized using Ramsey CPT spectroscopy of the 87Rb ground state hyperfine transition over a 10 mm Ramsey distance in the atomic beam device. The prototype atomic beam clock demonstrates a fractional frequency stability of $\approx 1.2 \times 10^{-9}/\sqrt{\tau}$ for integration times $\tau$ from 1 s to 250 s, limited by detection noise. Optimized atomic beam clocks based on this approach may exceed the long-term stability of existing chip-scale clocks, and leading long-term systematics are predicted to limit the ultimate fractional frequency stability below $10^{-12}$.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure

National MEMS Technology Roadmap - Markets, Applications and Devices

MEMS teknologiaa on jo pitkään käytetty lukuisien eri laitteiden valmistamiseen. Osa näistä laitteista on ollut markkinoilla jo useita vuosia, kun taas osa on vasta kehitysvaiheessa. Jotta tutkimus ja kehitystyötä osattaisiin jatkossa kohdistaa oikeille painopistealueille, on tärkeää tietää mihin suuntaan kehitys on menossa. Tämä työ on osa kansallista MEMS teknologioiden tiekartta -projektia ja sen tavoitteena oli selvittää MEMS laitteiden kehityksen suuntaa. Työ toteutettiin laajana kirjallisuustutkimuksena. Lisäksi tulosten tueksi haastateltiin asiantuntijoita Suomen MEMS teollisuudesta. Työssä tarkasteltiin lukuisia jo markkinoilta löytyviä ja vasta kehitteillä olevia MEMS laitteita ja analysoitiin niitä sekä teknisestä että kaupallisesta näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen perusteella kävi ilmi, että MEMS markkinat ovat pitkään muodostuneet vakiintuneista laitteista kuten mustesuihkupäistä, kiihtyvyysantureista, paineantureista sekä RF suotimista. Lisäksi mikrofonit, gyroskoopit ja optiset laitteet ovat olleet kaupallisesti saatavilla jo pitkään. Markkinat ovat hiljattain alkaneet tehdä tilaa myös uusille MEMS laitteille, joita tulee ulos nopeaa vauhtia. Viimeisimpänä markkinoille tulleita laitteita ovat erilaiset mikrofluidistiikka laitteet, mikrobolometrit sekä yhdistelmäanturit. Pian kaupallisesti saatavia laitteita ovat magnetometrit, automaattitarkennuslaitteet sekä MEMS oskillaattorit. Näiden laitteiden lisäksi kehitteillä on monia uusia MEMS laitteita, jotka saattavat tarjota merkittäviä mahdollisuuksia tulevaisuudessa. Kehitteillä olevia laitteita ovat erilaiset lääketieteelliset laitteet, atomikellot, mikrojäähdyttimet, mikrokaiuttimet, energiantuottolaitteet sekä RFID-laitteet. Kaikki kehitteillä olevista laitteista eivät välttämättä tule menestymään kaupallisesti, mutta jatkuva tutkimustyö osoittaa, että monilla MEMS laitteilla on potentiaalia useissa eri sovelluksissa. Markkinanäkökulmasta tarkasteltuna suurin potentiaali piilee kuluttajaelektroniikka markkinoilla. Muita tulevaisuuden kannalta potentiaalisia markkinoita ovat lääketieteelliset ja teollisuusmarkkinat. Tutkimus osoitti että MEMS laitteiden tutkimukseen ja kehitykseen liittyy monia potentiaalisia painopistealueita tulevaisuudessa. Käyttömahdollisuuksien parantamiseksi monet jo vakiintuneet laitteet kaipaavat vielä parannuksia. Toisaalta, jo olemassa olevia laitteita voidaan hyödyntää uusissa sovelluksissa. Lisäksi monet uusista ja kehitteillä olevista MEMS laitteista vaativat vielä kehitystyötä.MEMS technology has long been applied to the fabrication of various devices from which some have already been in use for several years, whereas others are still under development. In order to find future focus areas in research and development activities in the industry, it is important to know where the development is going. This thesis was conducted as a part of National MEMS technology roadmap, and it aimed for determining the evolution of MEMS devices. The work was conducted as an extensive literature review. In addition, experts from the Finnish MEMS industry were interviewed in order obtain a broader insight to the results. In this thesis various existing and emerging MEMS devices were reviewed and analyzed from technological and commercial perspectives. The study showed that the MEMS market has long been composed of established devices, such as inkjet print-heads, pressure sensors, accelerometers and RF filters. Also gyroscopes, microphones and optical MEMS devices have already been on the market for a long time. Lately, many new devices have started to find their place in the markets. The most recently introduced commercial devices include microfluidic devices, micro bolometers, and combo sensors. There are also a few devices including magnetometers, MEMS oscillators, and auto-focus devices that are currently crossing the gap from R&D to commercialization. In addition to the already available devices, many new MEMS devices are under development, and might offer significant opportunities in the future. These emerging devices include various bioMEMS devices, atomic clocks, micro-coolers, micro speakers, power MEMS devices, and RFID devices. All of the emerging devices might not find commercial success, but the constant stream shows, that there are numerous applications, where MEMS devices could be applied in. From a market point of view, the greatest potential in the future lies in consumer electronics market. Other highly potential markets include medical and industrial markets. The results of the thesis indicate that there are many potential focus areas in the future related to MEMS devices, including improvements of the existing devices in order to gain better utilization, application of the existing devices in new areas, and development work among the emerging devices

Integrated packaging solutions and hotplates for a miniature atomic clock and other microsystems

This thesis aimed at developing innovative packaging solutions for a miniature atomic clock and other microsystems in the cm-scale, i.e. somewhat larger than what is practical for full "chip-scale" device-package integration using clean-room technologies for fabrication of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Besides well-defined and robust mechanical attachment, such packaging solutions must provide reliable electrical interconnection with the other system components, and, if needed, additional functions such as local temperature control, insulation from electrical magnetic or temperature perturbations, chemical separation (hermeticity). In order to accomplish this objective, different packaging technologies and modules were developed, fabricated and characterized in the frame of this thesis, with particular emphasis on the packaging of a miniature double-resonance (DR) rubidium atomic clock, which is an ideal demonstration platform given the associated large variety of requirements. First, the possibility of encapsulating the reactive Rb metal in ceramic / glass substrates using soldering was explored, with the aim to achieve simple and reliable fabrication of miniature atomic clock elements such as the reference cell and the Rb lamp. After a thorough literature review investigation of the metallurgical interactions between rubidium and materials used in packaging such as solder (Sn, Pb, Bi..) and thick-film metallizations metals (Ag, Pd, Au, 2 Pt...), an innovative design for a Rb reference cell (dimensions 10 × 12 mm ) is presented. The cell is based on a multifunctional low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) spacer, closed by two glass windows allowing light transmission and acting as lids. Bonding is achieved by low-temperature soldering, avoiding exposing Rb to high temperatures. The use of LTCC as the main substrate material for Rb vapor cells in principle allows further integration of necessary functions for the Rb lamp and reference cell, such as temperature regulation, excitation / microwave resonator electrodes, impedance-matching passive components (lamp), and coil for static magnetic field generation (reference). In this work, to test the hermeticity of the bonding, a pressure sensor was integrated into the cell by replacing one of the glass windows by a membrane comprising an integrated piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge. In this frame, a new lamination technique for LTCC is proposed. The technique consists in applying a hot-melt adhesive on top of the LTCC green tape, and allows good bonding of the tapes even at low lamination pressure. This technique is particularly attractive for the lamination of LTCC microfluidic devices or membrane pressure sensors, because the low pressure applied during lamination does not affect the shape of the channels in a microfluidic device, or the membrane of the sensor. The resulting cells are shown to be hermetic, and a Rb response could be measured by the project partners. However, heating resulted in loss of this response, indicating Rb depletion by undesired reactions between Rb and the sealing metals or contaminants. This result is somewhat in line with studies made in parallel with the present work on low-temperature indium thermocompression bonding. Therefore, although the results are promising, further optimisation of metallizations, solders and package design is required. An important generic function that may be integrated into LTCC is temperature control. In this frame, a multifunctional LTCC hotplate was designed, fabricated and studied. This device allows controlling the temperature of any object in the cm-scale, such as the abovementioned Rb vapor cells (reference or lamp) and other temperature-sensitive elements used in miniature atomic clocks such as lasers and impedance-matching passive components. Full thermal analysis, mathematical calculations, finite-element simulations and laboratory experiments were performed. The excellent structurability and modest thermal conductivity of LTCC make it much better suited than standard alumina for integrated hotplates, resulting in conduction losses in the LTCC structure being small compared to surface losses by conduction and convection. It is therefore concluded that insulation and/or vacuum packaging techniques are necessary to achieve optimized low-power operation. Although we have seen that LTCC is an excellent integrated packaging platform, there are some limitations for carrying relatively massive components such as the DR atomic clock resonator cavity structure, which in general is a solid metal part. Therefore, an alternative hotplate technology platform, was developed, based on the combination of standard fiberglass-reinforced organic-matrix printed-circuit board (PCB), combined with thick-film alumina heaters. The PCB acts as high-strength, low-cost and readily available mechanical carrier, electrical interconnect and thermal insulator, and the thick-film heaters provide local temperature regulation, with the high thermal conductivity of alumina ensuring good local temperature uniformity. Therefore, such a hybrid PCB-Al2O3 platform constitutes an attractive alternative to LTCC hotplates for benign operating conditions. In conclusion, this work introduced several innovative packaging solutions and techniques, which were successfully applied to various dedicated modules carrying the elements of miniature atomic clocks. Beyond this application, these developments allow us to envision efficient packaging of a wide variety of new miniature devices. Also, new areas for further investigations are suggested, such as long-term metallurgical interactions of alkali metals with solders, hermeticity, optimization of temperature distribution and thermal insulation techniques, as well as reliability at high-temperatures and under severe thermal cycling.This thesis aimed at developing innovative packaging solutions for a miniature atomic clock and other microsystems in the cm-scale, i.e. somewhat larger than what is practical for full "chip-scale" device-package integration using clean-room technologies for fabrication of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Besides well-defined and robust mechanical attachment, such packaging solutions must provide reliable electrical interconnection with the other system components, and, if needed, additional functions such as local temperature control, insulation from electrical magnetic or temperature perturbations, chemical separation (hermeticity). In order to accomplish this objective, different packaging technologies and modules were developed, fabricated and characterized in the frame of this thesis, with particular emphasis on the packaging of a miniature double-resonance (DR) rubidium atomic clock, which is an ideal demonstration platform given the associated large variety of requirements. First, the possibility of encapsulating the reactive Rb metal in ceramic / glass substrates using soldering was explored, with the aim to achieve simple and reliable fabrication of miniature atomic clock elements such as the reference cell and the Rb lamp. After a thorough literature review investigation of the metallurgical interactions between rubidium and materials used in packaging such as solder (Sn, Pb, Bi..) and thick-film metallizations metals (Ag, Pd, Au, 2 Pt...), an innovative design for a Rb reference cell (dimensions 10 × 12 mm ) is presented. The cell is based on a multifunctional low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) spacer, closed by two glass windows allowing light transmission and acting as lids. Bonding is achieved by low-temperature soldering, avoiding exposing Rb to high temperatures. The use of LTCC as the main substrate material for Rb vapor cells in principle allows further integration of necessary functions for the Rb lamp and reference cell, such as temperature regulation, excitation / microwave resonator electrodes, impedance-matching passive components (lamp), and coil for static magnetic field generation (reference). In this work, to test the hermeticity of the bonding, a pressure sensor was integrated into the cell by replacing one of the glass windows by a membrane comprising an integrated piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge. In this frame, a new lamination technique for LTCC is proposed. The technique consists in applying a hot-melt adhesive on top of the LTCC green tape, and allows good bonding of the tapes even at low lamination pressure. This technique is particularly attractive for the lamination of LTCC microfluidic devices or membrane pressure sensors, because the low pressure applied during lamination does not affect the shape of the channels in a microfluidic device, or the membrane of the sensor. The resulting cells are shown to be hermetic, and a Rb response could be measured by the project partners. However, heating resulted in loss of this response, indicating Rb depletion by undesired reactions between Rb and the sealing metals or contaminants. This result is somewhat in line with studies made in parallel with the present work on low-temperature indium thermocompression bonding. Therefore, although the results are promising, further optimisation of metallizations, solders and package design is required. An important generic function that may be integrated into LTCC is temperature control. In this frame, a multifunctional LTCC hotplate was designed, fabricated and studied. This device allows controlling the temperature of any object in the cm-scale, such as the abovementioned Rb vapor cells (reference or lamp) and other temperature-sensitive elements used in miniature atomic clocks such as lasers and impedance-matching passive components. Full thermal analysis, mathematical calculations, finite-element simulations and laboratory experiments were performed. The excellent structurability and modest thermal conductivity of LTCC make it much better suited than standard alumina for integrated hotplates, resulting in conduction losses in the LTCC structure being small compared to surface losses by conduction and convection. It is therefore concluded that insulation and/or vacuum packaging techniques are necessary to achieve optimized low-power operation. Although we have seen that LTCC is an excellent integrated packaging platform, there are some limitations for carrying relatively massive components such as the DR atomic clock resonator cavity structure, which in general is a solid metal part. Therefore, an alternative hotplate technology platform, was developed, based on the combination of standard fiberglass-reinforced organic-matrix printed-circuit board (PCB), combined with thick-film alumina heaters. The PCB acts as high-strength, low-cost and readily available mechanical carrier, electrical interconnect and thermal insulator, and the thick-film heaters provide local temperature regulation, with the high thermal conductivity of alumina ensuring good local temperature uniformity. Therefore, such a hybrid PCB-Al2O3 platform constitutes an attractive alternative to LTCC hotplates for benign operating conditions. In conclusion, this work introduced several innovative packaging solutions and techniques, which were successfully applied to various dedicated modules carrying the elements of miniature atomic clocks. Beyond this application, these developments allow us to envision efficient packaging of a wide variety of new miniature devices. Also, new areas for further investigations are suggested, such as long-term metallurgical interactions of alkali metals with solders, hermeticity, optimization of temperature distribution and thermal insulation techniques, as well as reliability at high-temperatures and under severe thermal cycling

Micro-fabricated components for cold atom sensors

Laser cooled atoms have proven transformative for precision metrology, playing a pivotal role in state-of-the-art clocks and interferometers and having the potential to provide a step-change in our modern technological capabilities. To successfully explore their full potential, laser cooling platforms must be translated from the laboratory environment and into portable, compact quantum sensors for deployment in practical applications. This transition requires the amalgamation of a wide range of components and expertise if an unambiguously chip-scale cold atom sensor is to be realized. We present recent developments in cold-atom sensor miniaturization, focusing on key components that enable laser cooling on the chip-scale. The design, fabrication, and impact of the components on sensor scalability and performance will be discussed with an outlook to the next generation of chip-scale cold atom devices

Technology development for a compact rubidium optical frequency reference

The precision and accuracy of navigation and radar systems is typically limited by the stability of their internal frequency references. Currently, microwave atomic frequency references are close to the limits of what they can achieve in terms of short term stability. Optical atomic frequency references have demonstrated several orders of magnitude improvement in both short-term as well as long-term stability. In the past decade, improvements in optical frequency comb (OFC) technology have enabled the precise measurement of optical frequencies with much smaller form-factors, spurring research to build a portable optical atomic clock referenced to the 87Rb 5S1=2; F = 2 ! 5D5=2; F0 = 4 two-photon transition (TPT). Using a single laser source and simple Doppler-free spectroscopy in a heated Rb vapour cell one can generate an atomic reference signal with a linewidth approaching 334 kHz. The research presented here, compares the suitability of a telecoms (1550-1560 nm) CW laser with a narrow bandwidth OFC laser of 10-20 modes spaced apart at 3-6 GHz frep. The OFC laser achieves more than double the second harmonic conversion effciency compared with the CW laser, while delivering up to 30 mW of 778 nm light. The 778 nm OFC is then used to excite the reference transition and demonstrate coherent interaction of all OFC modes. Towards the aim of making the system compact, the research explores the use of micro-fabricated vapour cells, 3D printed oven designs and a chip-scale DFB (distributed feedback) laser with the prospects of integrating both the laser and spectroscopy on to a single micro-fabricated semiconductor platform. Pre-stabilising a noisy laser to an optical cavity is commonly required for optical atomic clocks, in order to resolve narrow-linewidth transitions. Towards this application, a low-drift, all-metal optical cavity is developed and characterised using Allvar metal, which possesses a negative coe�cient of thermal expansion (CTE). The overall cavity CTE can be temperature tuned to yield a CTE of < 0.001 ppm/°C at � 27 °C. The long-term cavity mode stability of the cavity was measured while referenced to one of the 87Rb 5S1=2 ! 5P3=2 780 nm transitions, residual drifts of 0.3 MHz/hr on time-scales up to 5 hrs (after subtracting o� pressure-correlated frequency shifts). The all-metal cavity should be less sensitive to thermal gradients as well as more responsive temperature stabilisation than ultra-low expansion cavities.The precision and accuracy of navigation and radar systems is typically limited by the stability of their internal frequency references. Currently, microwave atomic frequency references are close to the limits of what they can achieve in terms of short term stability. Optical atomic frequency references have demonstrated several orders of magnitude improvement in both short-term as well as long-term stability. In the past decade, improvements in optical frequency comb (OFC) technology have enabled the precise measurement of optical frequencies with much smaller form-factors, spurring research to build a portable optical atomic clock referenced to the 87Rb 5S1=2; F = 2 ! 5D5=2; F0 = 4 two-photon transition (TPT). Using a single laser source and simple Doppler-free spectroscopy in a heated Rb vapour cell one can generate an atomic reference signal with a linewidth approaching 334 kHz. The research presented here, compares the suitability of a telecoms (1550-1560 nm) CW laser with a narrow bandwidth OFC laser of 10-20 modes spaced apart at 3-6 GHz frep. The OFC laser achieves more than double the second harmonic conversion effciency compared with the CW laser, while delivering up to 30 mW of 778 nm light. The 778 nm OFC is then used to excite the reference transition and demonstrate coherent interaction of all OFC modes. Towards the aim of making the system compact, the research explores the use of micro-fabricated vapour cells, 3D printed oven designs and a chip-scale DFB (distributed feedback) laser with the prospects of integrating both the laser and spectroscopy on to a single micro-fabricated semiconductor platform. Pre-stabilising a noisy laser to an optical cavity is commonly required for optical atomic clocks, in order to resolve narrow-linewidth transitions. Towards this application, a low-drift, all-metal optical cavity is developed and characterised using Allvar metal, which possesses a negative coe�cient of thermal expansion (CTE). The overall cavity CTE can be temperature tuned to yield a CTE of < 0.001 ppm/°C at � 27 °C. The long-term cavity mode stability of the cavity was measured while referenced to one of the 87Rb 5S1=2 ! 5P3=2 780 nm transitions, residual drifts of 0.3 MHz/hr on time-scales up to 5 hrs (after subtracting o� pressure-correlated frequency shifts). The all-metal cavity should be less sensitive to thermal gradients as well as more responsive temperature stabilisation than ultra-low expansion cavities

Development of the recess mounting with monolithic metallization optoelectronic integrated circuit technology for optical clock distribution applications

Thesis (Elec. E.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, February 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-128).Recess mounting with monolithic metallization, or RM3 integration, is used to integrate Ino.47Ga0.53As/InP based lattice-matched high quantum efficiency p-i-n photodetectors on silicon chips to build high performance optoelectronic integrated circuits [1]. In RM3 integration, partially processed heterostructure devices are placed in recesses formed in the dielectric layers covering the surface of an integrated circuit chip, the surface is planarized, and monolithic processing is continued to transform the heterostructures into optoelectronic devices monolithically integrated with the underlying electronic circuitry. Two different RM3 techniques have been investigated, Aligned Pillar Bonding (APB) and OptoPill Assembly (OPA). APB integrates lattice mismatched materials using aligned, selective area wafer bonding at reduced temperature (under 3500C), which protects the electronic chips from the adverse effects of high temperatures, and reduces the thermal expansion mismatch concerns. In the OPA technique, optoelectronic heterostructures are processed into circular pills of 8 gm height and 45 gm diameter, the pills are released from the substrate, and collected through a process that involves decanting.(cont.) The pills are then assembled into recesses on silicon chips using manual pick & place techniques, and they are bonded to the metal pads on the bottom surface of the recesses using a Cu-AuSn solder bond. A new magnet assisted bonding technique is utilized to obtain clamping pressure to form the solder bond. The gap between the pill and the surrounding recess is filled using BCB, which also provides good surface planarization.by Eralp Atmaca.Elec.E