Compact and Ultra-Stable Clock Based on Rotational THz Gas Spectroscopy with a SiGe BiCMOS Network Analyzer Frontend and Micromachined Waveguide (TeraClock)

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Dietmar Kissinger; Professor Dr.-Ing. Marc Christopher Wurz
• Subject Area: Communication Technology and Networks, High-Frequency Technology and Photonic Systems, Signal Processing and Machine Learning for Information Technology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541807480

The project goal is the implementation and demonstration of a compact molecular clock showing a system volume in the mm³-range. A molecular clock, being a passive frequency standard, locks a reference oscillator to a high-Q molecular resonance with the aid of a servo loop. The physical root of this resonance is the quantized angular moment of molecules and its discreate energy levels, which are probed with spectroscopic techniques. The demonstrated frequency stability of such system is comparable to its competitor – the chip-scale atom clocks (CSAC). Molecular clocks exhibit the paramount advantage of being a heater-free and full-electronic system enabling the further commercialization of this technology at costs being magnitude smaller compared to CSACs. A molecular clock comprises two main system components. On the one hand the active circuits to generate the signal power to excite the molecules as well as the readout circuits to acquire its response. On the other hand, the hermetic sealed gas cell, housing the probing gas, and being optimized to convey the electromagnetic energy at low losses. For the first time both components will be realized with innovative silicon and micromachining techniques enabling the implementation of a compact molecular clock. The target system shows a system volume of 5x5x3 mm³, being a factor of 4000 smaller compared to state-of-the-art implementations.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants