Design Studies for a Rubidium Gas Cell Frequency Standard

A description is given of several studies undertaken in the design of a small, gas cell stabilized atomic frequency standard making use of the field-independent hyperfine resonance of rubidium 87 at 6834 mc. In the standard considered, light from a rubidium vapor lamp is used to enhance the population differences between the atomic levels involved in the resonance and also to provide a means of detecting the microwave resonance. One of the studies described is concerned with the generation of requisite microwave energy at the resonant frequency, another with the choice of an optimum length for the gas cell, and the last with the optimization of parameters for the modulation process used.