One of the prerequisites for this is that the optical frequencies of the two clocks can be compared. This so-called chronometric levelling represents an important application of clocks in geodesy. What initially sounds bizarre has quite practical effects: Two optical atomic clocks with an extremely small relative measurement uncertainty of 10 -18 can measure the difference in height between arbitrary points on the Earth at an accuracy of just one centimeter. At the end of the program, synchronization between stationary, mobile, and airborne clocks will be demonstrated with timing precision sufficient for 100 GHz distributed coherence.It was Einstein who determined that two clocks located at two different positions in the gravitational field of the Earth operate at different speeds. In Phase 1, performers in both technical areas will develop a physics package to demonstrate the technology, and in Phase 2 performers will be tasked to develop fully operational clocks. ROCkN is a four-year program consisting of two, two-year phases. The second technical area calls for performers to develop an optical atomic clock in a transportable package that could fit on a Navy ship or in a field tent to provide GPS-equivalent, nanosecond precision for 30 days in the absence of GPS.
The clock will need to withstand temperature, acceleration, and vibrational noise for use on board aircraft, vehicles, or satellites.
#Aims to optical atomic clocks portable portable
In the first area, performers will be tasked to design a portable optical atomic clock that could fit on a fighter jet or satellite providing picosecond (trillionth of a second) accuracy for 100 seconds. The second area focuses on building a larger, but still transportable, optical clock with unprecedented holdover performance. The program is divided into two technical areas: The first focuses on developing a robust, high-precision small portable optical clock. This program could create many of the critical technologies, components, and demonstrations leading to a potential future networked clock architecture.” “If we’re successful, these optical clocks would provide a 100x increase in precision, or decrease in timing error, over existing microwave atomic clocks, and demonstrate improved holdover of nanosecond timing precision from a few hours to a month. “The goal is to transition optical atomic clocks from elaborate laboratory configurations to small and robust versions that can operate outside the lab,” said Tatjana Curcic, program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office.
ROCkN will leverage DARPA-funded research over the past couple decades that has led to lab demonstration of the world’s most precise optical atomic clocks.1 ROCkN clocks will not be as precise as the best lab optical clocks, but they will surpass current state-of-the-art atomic clocks in both precision and holdover while maintaining low SWaP in a robust package. To address this scenario, DARPA has announced the Robust Optical Clock Network (ROCkN) program, which aims to create optical atomic clocks with low size, weight, and power (SWaP) that yield timing accuracy and holdover better than GPS atomic clocks and can be used outside a laboratory. If GPS were jammed by an adversary, time synchronization would rapidly deteriorate and threaten military operations.
A timing error of just a few billionths of a second can translate to positioning being off by a meter or more.
High-tech missiles, sensors, aircraft, ships, and artillery all rely on atomic clocks on GPS satellites for nanosecond timing accuracy. Synchronizing time in modern warfare – down to billionths and trillionths of a second – is critical for mission success.
0 kommentar(er)
