Ovens for atomic clocks may include a body including a cavity within the body. A plurality of heating elements may be distributed around the body, each heating element of the plurality including coils of electrically resistive material. An arrangement of the plurality of heating elements may be such that far fields of magnetic fields having opposite polarities induced by respective coils of the heating elements overlap.

A cooling system for a cold-atom sensor, this system includes a two-dimensional cooling chamber, called the 2D chamber (Ch2D), kept under ultra-high vacuum and placed at least partially inside an integrating cylinder (IC) having a Z-axis, the integrating cylinder being configured to illuminate the 2D chamber with a first isotropic light (IL1), the 2D chamber comprising atoms to be cooled, a three-dimensional cooling chamber, called the 3D chamber (Ch3D), kept under ultra-high vacuum and joined to the 2D chamber by an aperture (Op) configured to allow the atoms to pass from the 2D chamber to the 3D chamber via movement substantially along the Z-axis, the 3D chamber being placed at least partially inside an integrating sphere (IS), the integrating sphere being configured to illuminate the 3D chamber with a second isotropic light (IL2).

A cooling system for a cold-atom sensor, this system includes a two-dimensional cooling chamber, called the 2D chamber (Ch2D), kept under ultra-high vacuum and placed at least partially inside an integrating cylinder (IC) having a Z-axis, the integrating cylinder being configured to illuminate the 2D chamber with a first isotropic light (IL1), the 2D chamber comprising atoms to be cooled, a three-dimensional cooling chamber, called the 3D chamber (Ch3D), kept under ultra-high vacuum and joined to the 2D chamber by an aperture (Op) configured to allow the atoms to pass from the 2D chamber to the 3D chamber via movement substantially along the Z-axis, the 3D chamber being placed at least partially inside an integrating sphere (IS), the integrating sphere being configured to illuminate the 3D chamber with a second isotropic light (IL2).

A quantum interference device includes a base having a mounting surface, an atom cell in which alkali metal atoms are encapsulated, a light source adapted to emit light adapted to excite the alkali metal atoms, a photodetector adapted to detect the light having been transmitted through the atom cell, and a support adapted to support the atom cell, the light source, and the photodetector in a lump with respect to the mounting surface in a state in which the atom cell, the light source, and the photodetector are arranged in a direction along the mounting surface.

A quantum interference device has an atomic cell which has alkali metal atoms disposed within. A light source emits light to excite the alkali metal atoms in the atomic cell. An optical element is disposed between the light source and the atomic cell, and enlarges the radiation angle of light emitted from the light source. A light detector detects light transmitted through the atomic cell.

A generator and method for tuning the generator are disclosed. The method includes setting the frequency of power applied by the generator to a current best frequency and sensing a characteristic of the power applied by the generator. A current best error based upon the characteristic of the power is determined, and the frequency of the power at the current best frequency is maintained for a main-time-period. The frequency of the power is then changed to a probe frequency and maintained at the probe frequency for a probe-time-period, which is less than the main-time-period. The current best frequency is set to the probe frequency if the error at the probe frequency is less than the error at the current best frequency.

A generator and method for tuning the generator are disclosed. The method includes setting the frequency of power applied by the generator to a current best frequency and sensing a characteristic of the power applied by the generator. A current best error based upon the characteristic of the power is determined, and the frequency of the power at the current best frequency is maintained for a main-time-period. The frequency of the power is then changed to a probe frequency and maintained at the probe frequency for a probe-time-period, which is less than the main-time-period. The current best frequency is set to the probe frequency if the error at the probe frequency is less than the error at the current best frequency.

An atomic oscillator includes a gas cell into which alkali metal atoms are sealed, a light emitting portion that emits excitation light including a pair of resonance light beams for resonating the alkali metal atoms toward the alkali metal atoms, a coil that is provided to surround an outer circumference of the gas cell with an axis of the excitation light as an axial direction, and a shield case that stores at least the gas cell and the coil and contains a metal material, in which the shield case is constituted by a plurality of tabular portions, and, among the plurality of tabular portions, a main surface of one of two adjacent tabular portions faces a side surface of the other tabular portion.

An atomic clock including an ion trap assembly, a C-field coil positioned for generating a first magnetic field in the interrogation region of the ion trap assembly, a compensation coil positioned for generating a second magnetic field in the interrogation region, wherein the combination of the first and second magnetic fields produces an ion number-dependent second order Zeeman shift (Zeeman shift) in the resonance frequency that is opposite in sign to an ion number-dependent second order Doppler shift (Doppler shift) in the resonance frequency, the C-field coil has a radius selected using data indicating how changes in the radius affect an ion-number-dependent shift in the resonance frequency, such that a difference in magnitude between the Doppler shift and the Zeeman shift is controlled or reduced, and the resonance frequency, including the adjustment by the Zeeman shift, is used to obtain the frequency standard.

An atomic clock including an ion trap assembly, a C-field coil positioned for generating a first magnetic field in the interrogation region of the ion trap assembly, a compensation coil positioned for generating a second magnetic field in the interrogation region, wherein the combination of the first and second magnetic fields produces an ion number-dependent second order Zeeman shift (Zeeman shift) in the resonance frequency that is opposite in sign to an ion number-dependent second order Doppler shift (Doppler shift) in the resonance frequency, the C-field coil has a radius selected using data indicating how changes in the radius affect an ion-number-dependent shift in the resonance frequency, such that a difference in magnitude between the Doppler shift and the Zeeman shift is controlled or reduced, and the resonance frequency, including the adjustment by the Zeeman shift, is used to obtain the frequency standard.