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NASA NTRS1977

The trapped mercury ion frequency standard

Singly ionized mercury atoms have a structure similar to neutral alkali atoms. They can be maintained as ions for very long times in an RF quadrupole ion trap. Thus, their ground state hyperfine structure can be used to make a frequency standard using optical pumping techniques similar to the well-known rubidium standard. The mass 199 isotope of mercury has an ionic hyperfine structure of 40.5 GHz. In a trap system a linewidth of 10 Hz has been measured. An expression is presented for the short-term stability of a proposed mercury standard as set by the achieved signal to noise ratio. There is prospect of further improvement. Long-term stability is affected by second order doppler effect, and by pressure, light, and Stark shifts. However, these appear either sufficiently small or sufficiently controlable that the proposed mercury ion standard would be competitive with existing standards.

Mcguire, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Integrity Monitoring of Mercury Discharge Lamps

Mercury discharge lamps are critical in many trapped ion frequency standard applications. An integrity monitoring system can be implemented using end-of-life signatures observed in operational mercury discharge lamps, making it possible to forecast imminent failure and to take action to mitigate the consequences (such as switching to a redundant system). Mercury lamps are used as a source of 194-nm ultraviolet radiation for optical pumping and state selection of mercury trapped ion frequency standards. Lamps are typically fabricated using 202Hg distilled into high-purity quartz, or other 194-nm transmitting material (e.g., sapphire). A buffer gas is also placed into the bulb, typically a noble gas such as argon, neon, or krypton. The bulbs are driven by strong RF fields oscillating at .200 MHz. The lamp output may age over time by two internal mechanisms: (1) the darkening of the bulb that attenuates light transmission and (2) the loss of mercury due to migration or chemical interactions with the bulb surface. During fabrication, excess mercury is placed into a bulb, so that the loss rate is compensated with new mercury emanating from a cool tip or adjacent reservoir. The light output is nearly constant or varies slightly at a constant rate for many months/years until the mercury source is depleted. At this point, the vapor pressure abruptly falls and the total light output and atomic clock SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) decrease. After several days to weeks, the light levels decrease to a point where the atomic clock SNR is no longer sufficient to stay in lock, or the lamp self-extinguishes. This signature has been observed in four separate end-of-life lamp failures while operating in the Deep Space Network (DSN). A simple integrator circuit can observe and document steady-state lamp behavior. When the light levels drop over a predetermined time interval by a specified amount (e.g., 20 percent), an alarm is set. For critical operational applications, such as the DSN or in space flight, this warning provides notice that a failure may be imminent, and for operators or control algorithm to take action.

Tjoelker, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Linear ion trap based atomic frequency standard

In order to develop a trapped ion-based fieldable frequency standard with stability 1 x 10 to the -13th/sq rt tau for averaging times tau greater than 10,000 s, a hybrid RF/DC linear ion trap was developed which permits storage of large numbers of ions with reduced susceptibility to the second-order Doppler effect caused by the RF confining fields. The authors have confined Hg-199(+) ions in this trap and have measured very high Q transitions with good SNRs. In preliminary measurements they obtained stabilities of 1.6 x 10 to the -13th/sq rt tau (tau between 50 and 800 s) with a 160-mHz wide atomic resonance linewidth and a signal-to-noise ratio of 40 for each measurement cycle. Atomic resonance lines as narrow as 30 mHz on the 40.5-GHz clock transition have been measured with no appreciable reduction in the ion signal. A stability of 7 x 10 to the -14th/sq rt tau is made possible by the signal-to-noise and line Q of this measured transition. Analysis of fundamental sources of frequency instability indicates that a long-term stability of 2 x 10 to the -16th is feasible for this device with existing technology for tau = 10 to the 6th s or more.

Prestage, John D.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Modifying Operating Cycles to Increase Stability in a LITS

The short-term instability in the frequency of a linear-ion-trap frequency standard (LITS) can be reduced by modifying two cycles involved in its operation: (1) the bimodal (bright/dim) cycle of a plasma discharge lamp used for state preparation and detection and (2) a microwave-interrogation cycle. The purpose and effect of the modifications is to enable an increase in the microwave- interrogation cycle time, motivated by the general principle that the short-term uncertainty or instability decreases with increasing microwave-interrogation time. Stated from a slightly different perspective, the effect of modifications is to enable the averaged LITS readings to settle to their longterm stability over a shorter total observation time. The basic principles of a LITS were discussed in several NASA Tech Briefs articles. Here are recapitulated only those items of background information necessary to place the present modifications in context. A LITS includes a microwave local oscillator, the frequency of which is stabilized by comparison with the frequency of a ground-state hyperfine transition of Hg-199(+) ions. In a LITS of the type to which the modifications apply, the comparison involves a combination of optical and micro wave excitation and interrogation of the ions in two collinear ion traps: a quadrupole trap wherein the optical excitation used for state preparation and detection takes place, and a multipole (e.g., 12-pole) trap wherein the microwave interrogation of the clock transition takes place. The ions are initially loaded into the quadrupole trap and are thereafter shuttled between the two traps. This concludes the background information.

Burt, Eric↗
NASA NTRS1987

Atomic frequency standards for ultra-high-frequency stability

The general features of the Hg-199(+) trapped-ion frequency standard are outlined and compared to other atomic frequency standards, especially the hydrogen maser. The points discussed are those which make the trapped Hg-199(+) standard attractive: high line Q, reduced sensitivity to external magnetic fields, and simplicity of state selection, among others.

Maleki, L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Cycle Time Reduction in Trapped Mercury Ion Atomic Frequency Standards

The use of the mercury ion isotope (201)Hg(+) was examined for an atomic clock. Taking advantage of the faster optical pumping time in (201)Hg(+) reduces both the state preparation and the state readout times, thereby decreasing the overall cycle time of the clock and reducing the impact of medium-term LO noise on the performance of the frequency standard. The spectral overlap between the plasma discharge lamp used for (201)Hg(+) state preparation and readout is much larger than that of the lamp used for the more conventional (199)Hg(+). There has been little study of (201)Hg(+) for clock applications (in fact, all trapped ion clock work in mercury has been with (199)Hg(+); however, recently the optical pumping time in (201)Hg(+) has been measured and found to be 0.45 second, or about three times faster than in (199)Hg(+) due largely to the better spectral overlap. This can be used to reduce the overall clock cycle time by over 2 seconds, or up to a factor of 2 improvement. The use of the (201)Hg(+) for an atomic clock is totally new. Most attempts to reduce the impact of LO noise have focused on reducing the interrogation time. In the trapped ion frequency standards built so far at JPL, the optical pumping time is already at its minimum so that no enhancement can be had by shortening it. However, by using (201)Hg(+), this is no longer the case. Furthermore, integrity monitoring, the mechanism that determines whether the clock is functioning normally, cannot happen faster than the clock cycle time. Therefore, a shorter cycle time will enable quicker detection of failure modes and recovery from them.

Burt, Eric A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Analytic potential in a linear radio-frequency quadrupole trap with cylindrical electrodes

An analytical expression is derived for a radio-frequency ion trap of novel configuration consisting of a four-sectored hollow cylinder enclosed between two end caps. The cylindrical geometry of the sectored trap provides shielding against the buildup of charge and also makes it possible to calculate the potential within the trap by solving Laplace's equation for given boundary conditions. Equations are presented for calculating the time-averaged potential generated by the RF fields, the end-cap potential, and the potential arising from the application of a dc bias on two of the four electrode sectors. It is shown that, near the ends of this trap, the effective potential arising from the RF fields acts to propel ions out of the trap and that the addition of a dc bias on two neighboring sectors generates an inhomogeneous field in the trap which produces a force on the ions along the trap's long axis in a direction dependent on the sign of the bias.

Melbourne, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Role of electromagnetic noise in the interhemispheric plasma exchange along closed field lines

Satellite observations have demonstrated that the equatorially trapped superthermal hydrogen ions are a common occurrence in the outer plasmaspheric flux tubes. Such ions occur in conjunction with broadband waves over a frequency spectrum from the proton-cyclotron frequency to the lower-hybrid frequency. Trapped ions are produced by the transverse heating of the ions by the waves. The effect of such ion heating on the interhemispheric plasma flow is studied here. The consequences of the trapped ion production on the plasmaspheric refilling after geomagnetic storms are examined.

Singh, Nagendra↗
NASA NTRS1993

Time scale algorithms for an inhomogeneous group of atomic clocks

Through the past 17 years, the time scale requirements at the National Research Council (NRC) have been met by the unsteered output of its primary laboratory cesium clocks, supplemented by hydrogen masers when short-term stability better than 2 x 10(exp -12)tau(sup -1/2) has been required. NRC now operates three primary laboratory cesium clocks, three hydrogen masers, and two commercial cesium clocks. NRC has been using ensemble averages for internal purposes for the past several years, and has a realtime algorithm operating on the outputs of its high-resolution (2 x 10(exp -13) s at 1 s) phase comparators. The slow frequency drift of the hydrogen masers has presented difficulties in incorporating their short-term stability into the ensemble average, while retaining the long-term stability of the laboratory cesium frequency standards. We report on this work on algorithms for an inhomogeneous ensemble of atomic clocks, and on our initial work on time scale algorithms that could incorporate frequency calibrations at NRC from the next generation of Zacharias fountain cesium frequency standards having frequency accuracies that might surpass 10(exp -15), or from single-trapped-ion frequency standards (Ba+, Sr+,...) with even higher potential accuracies. The requirements for redundancy in all the elements (including the algorithms) of an inhomogeneous ensemble that would give a robust real-time output of the algorithms are presented and discussed.

Jacques, C.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Progress Report on the Improved Linear Ion Trap Physics Package

This article describes the first operational results from the extended linear ion trap frequency standard now being developed at JPL. This new design separates the state selection/interrogation region from the more critical microwave resonance region where the multiplied local oscillator (LO) signal is compared to the stable atomic transition. Hg+ ions have been trapped, shuttled back and forth between the resonance and state selection traps. In addition, microwave transitions between the Hg+ clock levels have been driven in the resonance trap and detected in the state selection trap.

Linear Ion Trap↗
NASA NTRS2003

Stabilized Fiber-Optic Distribution of Reference Frequency

An optoelectronic system distributes a reference signal of low noise and highly stabilized phase and frequency (100 MHz) from an atomic frequency standard to a remote facility at a distance up to tens of kilometers. The reference signal is transmitted to the remote station as amplitude modulation of an optical carrier signal propagating in an optical fiber. The stabilization scheme implemented in this system is intended particularly to suppress phase and frequency fluctuations caused by vibrations and by expansion and contraction of the optical fiber and other components in diurnal and seasonal heating and cooling cycles. The system (see figure) comprises several subsystems, the main one being (1) a hydrogen-maser or linear-ion-trap frequency standard in an environmentally controlled room in a signal-processing center (SPC), (2) a stabilized fiber-optic distribution assembly (SFODA), (3) a compensated sapphire oscillator (CSO) in an environmentally controlled room in the remote facility, (4) thermally stabilized distribution amplifiers and cabling from the environmentally controlled room to end users, and (5) performance- measuring equipment.

Calhoun, Malcolm↗
NASA NTRS1971

Heavy ion plasma confinement in an RF quadrupole trap

The confinement of an electron free plasma in a pure quadrupole RF electric trap was considered. The ultimate goal was to produce a large density of mercury ions, in order to realize a trapped ion frequency standard using the hyperfine resonance of 199 Hg(+) at 40.7 GHz. An attempt was made to obtain an iodine plasma consisting of equal numbers of positive and negative ions of atomic iodine, the positive iodine ions, being susceptible to charge-exchange with mercury atoms, will produce the desired mercury ions. The experiment showed that the photoproduction of ions pairs in iodine using the necessary UV radiation occurs with a small cross-section, making it difficult to demonstrate the feasibility of space charge neutralization in a quadrupole trap. For this reason it was considered expedient to choose thallium iodide, which has a more favorable absorption spectrum (in the region of 2000 to 2100 A). The results indicate that, although the ionic recombination is a serious limiting factor, a considerable improvement can be obtained in practice for the density of trapped ions, with a considerable advantage in lifetimes for spectroscopic purposes. The ion pair formation by photoionization is briefly reviewed.

Schermann, J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Radiative lifetime of the 5S2 metastable state of N/+/

The radiative lifetime of metastable N(+)(5S2) has been measured to be 4.2 + or - 0.6 msec, a value generally in agreement with theory, by direct monitoring of the spontaneous emission from approximately 1,000,000 ions stored in a radio-frequency ion trap. Additional measurements were made of the quenching rate coefficient (2.5 x 10 to the -9th cu cm/sec) and the production cross section (greater than or equal to 10 to the -18th sq cm) of N(+)(5S2) in N2. This work supports the interpretation of the 2145-A feature in the spectrum of aurorae as being due to N(+)(5S2) emission.

Knight, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The radiative lifetime of the 5S(0)2 metastable level of O(2+)

The radiative lifetime of the 5S(0)2 metastable level of O(2+) was measured as 1.22 + or - 0.08 ms at the 90 percent confidence level by observing the time dependence of the spontaneous emission from metastable ions created and stored in a cylindrical radio-frequency ion trap. The intersystem line emission 2s(2)2p(2) 3P - 2s2p(3) 5S(0) was observed at 1660.8 and 1666.2 A. Discrepancies between measured and calculated values indicate that certain calculated transition probabilities for intersystem lines may be less reliable than previously believed.

Johnson, B. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Measurements of transition probabilities for spin-changing lines of atomic ions used in diagnostics of astrophysical plasmas

The intensities of ultraviolet, spin-changing, 'intersystem' lines of low-Z atomic ions are frequently used in determinations of electron densities and temperatures in astrophysical plasmas as well as in measurements of element abundances in the interstellar gas. The transition probabilities (A-values) of these lines, which are about five orders of magnitude weaker than allowed lines, have not been measured heretofore and various calculations produce A-values for these lines that differ by as much as 50 percent A radio-frequency ion trap has been used for the first measurements of transition probabilities for intersystem lines seen in astronomical spectra. The measurement procedure is discussed and results for Si III, O III, N II, and C III are reviewed and compared to calculated values. Discrepancies exist; these indicate that some of the calculated A-values may be less reliable than has been beleived and that revisions to the electron densities determined for some astrophysical plasmas may be required.

Smith, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Absolute Transition Probabilities of Lines in the Spectra of Astrophysical Atoms, Molecules, and Ions

Progress in the investigation of absolute transition probabilities (A-values or F values) for ultraviolet lines is reported. A radio frequency ion trap was used for measurement of transition probabilities for intersystem lines seen in astronomical spectra. The intersystem line at 2670 A in Al II, which is seen in pre-main sequence stars and symbiotic stars, was studied.

Parkinson, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Measurement of the transition probability of the C III 190.9 nanometer intersystem line

A radio-frequency ion trap has been used to store C(2+) ions created by electron bombardment of CO. The transition probability for the 2s2p 3Po1-2s2 1S0 intersystem line of C m has been measured by recording the radiative decay at 190.9 nm. The measured A-value is 121 +/- 7/s and agrees, within mutual uncertainty limits, with that of Laughlin et al. (1978), but is 20 percent larger than that of Nussbaumer and Storey (1978). The effective collision mixing rate coefficient among the fine structure levels of 3Po and the combined quenching and charge transfer rate coefficients out of the 3Po1 level with the CO source gas have also been measured.

Kwong, Victor H. S.↗