The combination of MEMS microfabrication processes and precision spectroscopy is opening the door to highly precise instruments and sensors that are also very small and dissipate very little power. The chip-scale atomic clock, first demonstrated at NIST in 2004, is an excellent example. Highly miniaturized, low-power atomic frequency references are likely to open new avenues for application of atomically precise timing in portable, battery-operated technologies. In this project, MEMS microfabrication processes are used to construct millimeter-scale atomic instruments with sensitivities and stabilities orders of magnitude lower than can be achieved in other devices of comparable size. We are developing a broad class of instruments that realize fundamental and derived SI units in a chip-scale format, including atomic clocks, wavelength references, current sources and thermometers, all based on atomic vapor cell technology. We have strong connections with user communities in US industry and defense and work closely with those stakeholders to develop useful and innovative instruments that will directly and fundamentally impact a variety of applications spaces.

 

key words

Atom; Atomic clocks; Frequency standards; Laser; MEMS; Micromachining; Optical coherence; Spectroscopy; NIST on a Chip; Wavelength reference;

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral applicants