Fine-structure artifact of the velocity distribution of Cs beam tubes as measured by the pulsed microwave power technique [atomic frequency standard]

An artifact of the pulsed microwave power technique used to measure the velocity distributions of Cs beam tubes is shown. To predict these results, a simple theory is used that considers the Ramsey response function (i.e. output tube current vs. microwave frequency) as being a simple electrical-filter transfer function for the input of the pulse-modulated microwave power. Calculations that assume the principle of superposition are used to give predictions that are in close agreement with the measured results. This theory predicts how to set the pulse width so that the fine-structure artifact is minimized