Molecular atomic clock with wave propagating rotational spectroscopy cell

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10649408-B2
Application number	US-201816234494-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 27, 2018
Priority date	Dec 29, 2017
Publication date	May 12, 2020
Grant date	May 12, 2020

Abstract

A clock apparatus with: (i) a gas cell, including a continuous path cavity including a sealed interior for providing a signal waveguide; (ii) an apparatus for providing an electromagnetic wave to travel along the continuous path cavity and for circulating around the continuous path cavity back toward and past a point of entry of the electromagnetic wave in the continuous path cavity; (iii) a dipolar gas inside the sealed interior of the cavity; and (iv) receiving apparatus for detecting an amount of energy in the electromagnetic wave, wherein the amount of energy is responsive to an amount of absorption of the electromagnetic wave as the electromagnetic wave passes through the dipolar gas.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A clock apparatus, comprising:
a gas cell, including a continuous path cavity including a sealed interior for providing a signal waveguide;
an apparatus for providing an electromagnetic wave to travel along and circulate around the continuous path cavity back toward and past a point of entry of the electromagnetic wave in the continuous path cavity;
a dipolar gas inside the sealed interior of the continuous path cavity; and
receiving apparatus for detecting an amount of energy in the electromagnetic wave after the electromagnetic wave passes through the dipolar gas.

2. The clock apparatus of claim 1 wherein the receiving apparatus is further for:
sweeping a frequency of an energy signal across a range of frequencies, wherein the range is provided to the electromagnetic wave; and
responsive to detecting a peak energy in the electromagnetic wave, maintaining a frequency of the electromagnetic wave at a frequency corresponding to a frequency at which the peak energy occurred.

3. The clock apparatus of claim 2 wherein the peak energy includes a maximum amount of absorption.

4. The clock apparatus of claim 2 wherein the peak energy includes a minimum amount of transmission.

5. The clock apparatus of claim 1 wherein the continuous path cavity includes a portion having a circular planar cross-section.

6. The clock apparatus of claim 5 and further comprising:
an entrance portion in fluid communication with the portion having a circular planar cross-section; and
an exit portion in fluid communication with the portion having a circular planar cross-section.

7. The clock apparatus of claim 6 :
wherein the apparatus for providing comprises a transmit antenna proximate the entrance portion; and
wherein the receiving apparatus comprises a receive antenna proximate the exit portion.

8. The clock apparatus of claim 5 wherein the portion having a circular planar cross-section has a middle diameter proportional to a guided wavelength of the electromagnetic wave along the continuous path cavity.

9. The clock apparatus of claim 5 wherein the portion having a circular planar cross-section has a middle diameter proportional to a product of an integer times a guided wavelength of the electromagnetic wave along the continuous path cavity, divided by pi.

10. The clock apparatus of claim 1 wherein the gas cell is formed using one or more layers in a semiconductor wafer.

11. The clock apparatus of claim 1 :
wherein the gas cell is formed using one or more layers in a semiconductor wafer; and
further including a transceiver for communicating a signal to the first apparatus, wherein the transceiver is embodied in an integrated circuit located in a fixed position relative the semiconductor wafer.

12. The clock apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus is for providing an electromagnetic wave to travel in the cavity along the continuous path cavity and for circulating at least 100 times around the continuous path cavity, each time back toward and past a point of entry of the electromagnetic wave in the continuous path cavity.

13. The clock apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus for providing an electromagnetic wave to travel along the continuous path cavity is for circulating the electromagnetic wave to travel along the continuous path cavity in a constructive phase around the continuous path cavity, back toward and past a point of entry of the electromagnetic wave in the continuous path cavity.

14. The clock apparatus of claim 13 wherein the travel along the continuous path is through a portion having a circular planar cross-section.

15. The clock apparatus of claim 13 wherein the travel along the continuous path is through a portion having a trapezoidal cross-section taken perpendicular to a direction of the travel.

16. The clock apparatus of claim 1 :
wherein the electromagnetic wave comprises a first electromagnetic wave to travel in a first direction along the continuous path cavity; and
further comprising an apparatus for providing a second electromagnetic wave to travel along the continuous path in a second direction opposite the first direction.

17. The clock apparatus of claim 16 wherein the receiving apparatus for detecting an amount of energy in the electromagnetic wave is responsive to an amount of absorption of at least one of the first electromagnetic wave as the first electromagnetic wave passes through the dipolar gas and the second electromagnetic wave as the second electromagnetic wave passes through the dipolar gas.

18. The clock apparatus of claim 1 wherein the continuous path cavity comprises a perimeter proportional to a product of an integer times a guided wavelength of the electromagnetic wave along the continuous path cavity.

19. A method of operating a clock apparatus, the apparatus comprising a gas cell, including a continuous path cavity including a sealed interior for providing a signal waveguide, the method comprising:
providing an electromagnetic wave to travel along and circulate around the continuous path cavity back toward and past a point of entry of the electromagnetic wave in the continuous path cavity; and
detecting an amount of energy in the electromagnetic wave after the electromagnetic wave passes through a dipolar gas inside the sealed interior of the continuous path cavity.

20. The method of claim 19 and further comprising:
sweeping a frequency of an energy signal across a range of frequencies, wherein the range is provided to the electromagnetic wave; and
responsive to detecting a peak energy in the electromagnetic wave, maintaining a frequency of the electromagnetic wave at a frequency corresponding to a frequency at which the peak energy occurred.

Assignees

• Texas Instruments Inc

Inventors

• Herbsommer Juan Alejandro
• Bahr Bichoy
• Dellis Argyrios
• Fruehling Adam Joseph

Classifications

• H01P9/006

  Meander lines · CPC title

• H01P5/16

  Conjugate devices, i.e. devices having at least one port decoupled from one other port · CPC title

• H03B17/00 Primary

  Generation of oscillations using radiation source and detector, e.g. with interposed variable obturator · CPC title

• G04F5/14 Primary

  using atomic clocks · CPC title

• H01P5/185

  Edge coupled lines · CPC title