DARPA Making Progress on Miniaturized Atomic Clocks for Future PNT Applications
August 22, 2019 | DARPAEstimated reading time: 5 minutes
Honeywell’s integrated photonic chip technology not only reduces the size, weight, and power of laser delivery systems, but also allows for batch fabrication of complex optical systems with reduced manufacturing cost.
Figure 2: Silicon chip with waveguides and gratings to create a 3D laser beam pattern. In the photo, the light-guiding channels glow from the light they are directing, and the invisible 3D beams coming out of the chip are indicated by a computer-rendered overlay. Source: Honeywell
Finally, a team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), with support from researchers at SRI International; University of California, Davis; and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has demonstrated an experimental atomic clock capable of meeting ACES’ target metrics, while proving immune to temperature and environmental issues. Building off research that created the Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC), the team developed an ion-based approach to atom cooling that relies on ionized mercury and ultraviolet lamps instead of lasers. The JPL atomic clock showed an immunity of less than 1 part in 14 decimal places for 1 degree Celsius change. To put that in perspective, that is about 100x better than current CSACs. The use of mercury ions also provides more stability while making the technology less sensitive to magnetic fields and temperature changes.
Figure 3: This photo is of the ACES 10 cc package developed by researchers from NASA’s JPL. Source: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
As evidenced by the NIST and Honeywell research, progress on the ACES program is generating new means of fabricating atomic clock technologies at wafer scale, which makes continued exploration more cost effective and less reliant on massive engineering endeavors. “Today, we are dealing with complicated optical systems that require massive amounts of engineering whenever you want to iterate on a design. The early progress made on ACES shows that there are viable options in development for doing this same thing without the massive engineering manpower or hefty costs associated with current approaches,” noted Burke.
Page 2 of 2Suggested Items
Micross, Sital Announce Global Manufacturing & Distribution Partnership
05/07/2024 | Micross Components, Inc.Micross Components, Inc., a leading global provider of mission-critical microelectronic components and services for high-reliability aerospace, defense, space and industrial applications, is pleased to announce our exclusive partnership with Sital Technology (sitaltech.com), the leader in MIL-STD-1553 IP cores, specializing in integrated FPGA solutions.
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Innovative Lamination Technology
05/07/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOKevin Barrett of Insulectro and Victor Lazaro of Indubond discuss their companies' partnership, focusing on Indubond's innovative lamination technology that uses induction heating. They discuss the advantages of this technology over traditional methods, its benefits to customers, and the crucial role of automation in manufacturing.
Indium Corporation to Showcase HIA Materials at ECTC
05/07/2024 | Indium CorporationAs an industry leader in innovative materials solutions for semiconductor packaging and assembly, Indium Corporation® will feature its advanced products designed to meet the evolving challenges of heterogeneous integration and assembly (HIA) and fine-pitch system-in-package (SiP) applications at the 74th Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), May 28‒31, in Denver, Colorado.
IDTechEx Discusses Low-Loss Materials: The Enabler of Future Connected Vehicles?
05/06/2024 | IDTechExFuture connected vehicles will offer future drivers a safer, smoother, and more convenient driving experience. Not only will drivers get access to more navigation and entertainment options, but they will also gain access to safety technologies that will potentially reduce accidents, improve congestion, and reduce emissions globally by allowing vehicle safety systems to communicate with each other and with city traffic infrastructure.
BrainChip, Frontgrade Gaisler to Augment Space-Grade Microprocessors with AI Capabilities
05/06/2024 | BUSINESS WIREBrainChip Holdings Ltd, the world’s first commercial producer of ultra-low power, fully digital, event-based, neuromorphic AI IP, and Frontgrade Gaisler, a leading provider of space-grade system-on-chip solutions, announce their collaboration to explore the integration of BrainChip’s AkidaTM neuromorphic processor into Frontgrade Gaisler’s next generation fault-tolerant, radiation-hardened microprocessors.