SLATE: Strontium Lattice for Commercial Optical Clocks

用于传感和计量的冷原子设备是最接近商业开发的。这一科学是针对一些高度开发的应用，在灵敏度方面提供了毋庸置疑的性能优势，并已采取了一些措施来制造更紧凑的系统。但对于真正广泛的应用，需要在这些系统的尺寸、重量和功率(交换)和坚固性方面做出实质性改进。该项目致力于开发一种光学晶格钟。能够捕获和探测激光冷却的锶原子的物理组件是时钟询问的中心组件。光学晶格钟使用中性原子中的跃迁作为量子频率基准，以非常高的精度提供计时。该项目是开发商用锶钟的关键部分，使用在制造世界上最稳定的钟方面开发的技术。该项目将支持未来这种原子封装和腔体产品的领先工业能力的形成，这些能力将设在英国，因此也将受益于非ITAR地位。我们由2个合作伙伴组成的财团拥有开展该项目所需的所有关键专业知识。它是由高度创新的商业合作伙伴MSL领导的，他们在将高质量激光领域的新颖、最先进的技术推向市场方面有着良好的记录。伯明翰大学是英国国家量子技术中心在传感器和计量领域的领头羊，这是一个8000万GB的创新项目，包括6所大学和70多个行业合作伙伴。因此，除了在使用重力传感器进行地下测绘和与潜在商业最终用户建立联系方面的土木工程专业知识外，它还提供了一些技术开发专家，他们具有光学钟、重力传感器和模拟成套软件方面的专门知识。通过将真空技术和激光技术结合到测试，我们还将采取独特的步骤，大幅降低未来任何基于锶的原子钟的尺寸、功率和成本要求。到目前为止，这些组件都是单独开发的。然而，重要的是开发能够在遵循类似的加固和微型化活动的同时进行集成的系统。这一合作计划将开发一条基于英国的技术的明确供应链，适用于各种应用，从无卫星导航、金融交易的超高精度计时以及用于地下探测的异常精确的重力仪。

Cold atom devices for sensing and metrology are the closest to commercial exploitation. The science is for some applications highly developed and offers unquestioned performance advantages in sensitivity and some steps have been made at making more compact systems. But for genuine and widespread applications substantial improvements need to be made in size, weight and power ('SWAP') and ruggedness of these systems. The project SLATE is concerned with developing an optical lattice clock. The physics package that enables the trapping and probing of laser cooled atoms of strontium atoms is the central component for clock interrogation. Optical lattice clocks use transitions in neutral atoms as quantum frequency references to deliver timing at very high levels of accuracy. This project forms a key part of the development of a commercial strontium clock, using techniques developed in the creation of the world's most stable clocks. The project will support the nucleation of a leading industrial capability for such future atomics packages and chamber products, which will be UK based and also therefore benefit from non-ITAR status.Our consortium of 2 partners has all of the critical expertise required to prosecute this project. It is led by the highly innovative commercial partner MSL who have a proven track record in bringing novel, state of the art technology in high quality lasers to market. University of Birmingham is leading of the UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Sensors and Metrology, an £80M innovation project including 6 University and over 70 industry partners. As such it provides a number of technology development specialists with expertise in optical clocks, gravity sensors and simulation packages in addition to civil engineering expertise in the use of gravity sensors for underground mapping and links to potential commercial end-users. By combining the vacuum technology with laser technology through to testing we will also be making unique steps towards a significant step down in size, power and cost requirements of any future Sr based atomic clock.To-date these components have been developed in isolation. It is important, however, to develop systems that can integrate whilst following a similar ruggedisation and miniaturisation activities. This collaborative programme will develop a clear supply chain of UK-based technology suitable for various applications ranging from satellite-free navigation, ultra-high precision timing for financial trades and exceptionally-precise gravetometers for sub-surface detection.