Progress Towards a Compact and Low-Power Miniaturized Rubidium Oscillator (mRO)

We report on the progress towards a miniaturized rubidium timing source based on double resonance (DR) in 85Rb. The clock technology is based on Orolia’s commercial rubidium clock adapted for low power and volume. The rubidium plasma-lamp has been replaced with a low power VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser), and the size of the glass-blown rubidium vapor cell has been reduced to fit the complete physics package inside a commercial DIL-14 hermetic package. The clock volume is 50.8×50.8×19.5 mm³ (50 cm³) with a power consumption of 350 mW at room-temperature.