Unprecedented precision and accuracy of quantum clocks for coherent radars.

光学晶格钟正在成为计时的前沿，与标准铯原子钟相比，其精度至少提高了1000倍。光学晶格时钟是利用激光产生的光学驻波中捕获的超冷原子的跃迁来实现的。光学晶格钟在时间和稳定性方面的极高精度和精确度使其成为许多计时应用的理想候选者。本博士的主要目标是介绍雷达技术中的量子钟，并评估由此产生的雷达性能与传统形式的时钟相比。雷达在民用和军事上都有大量的应用。影响雷达性能的关键因素之一是相位噪声。这表现为与本地振荡器系统相关的频率稳定性，所有雷达定时测量都是从本地振荡器系统获得的。这一博士学位要解决的新科学是使用量子时钟降低雷达中的相位噪声。这将使雷达具有更高的灵敏度，从而提高探测和跟踪性能。该方法将包括模拟和实验，以便评估和验证部件规格与雷达性能之间的关系。

Optical lattice clocks are becoming the frontiers in time keeping, increasing the precision by at least a factor of 1000 compared to standard Caesium atomic clocks. Optical lattice clocks are realized using transitions in ultra-cold atoms trapped in optical standing waves created using lasers. The extreme precision and accuracy in timing and stability make the optical lattice clocks an ideal candidate for many time keeping applications.The key objectives of this Ph.D. are introducing quantum clocks in radar technology and assessing the resulting radar performance compared to traditional forms of clock. Radars have an immense number of civilian and military applications. One of the crucial factors in radar performance is the phase noise. This is manifest as the frequency stability associated with the local oscillator system from which all radar timing measurements are derived. The novel science to be addressed in this Ph.D. is reducing phase noise in radars using quantum clocks. This will result in radars with improved sensitivity enabling enhanced detection and tracking performance. The methodology will include both simulations and experimentation so that relationships between component specifications and radar performance can be assessed and validated.