Atomic Clock

The Miniature Atomic Clock (MAC) from Microsemi is a marvel of technology that uses a rubidium laser to deliver an incredibly accurate clock. The short-term stability of this clock, also known as Allan Deviation, is ≤8*10^-12. To put that into perspective, the MAC loses just one second every 4,000 years.

The MAC operates using the interrogation technique of Coherent Population Trapping (CPT) and the D1 optical resonance of atomic Rubidium Isotope 87. This rubidium clock is essentially a crystal oscillator locked to an atomic reference. The rubidium physics package serves as a passive discriminator, producing an error signal that varies in magnitude and sense as a function of the difference in frequency between the applied RF excitation and the atomic resonance. This makes it a low-cost, low-weight atomic standard that is quickly activated, delivering excellent phase noise performance, low G force sensitivity, and it operates in a wide temperature range.

Compared to a low-cost GPS receiver, which can provide accurate timing at ±10,000ps, the Miniature Atomic Clock SA.35m is four orders of magnitude more accurate at ±8ps. Despite its incredible accuracy, the MAC is compact, measuring just 51x51mm.

The MAC can be used in a variety of applications including GPS Anti-Jamming and Jamming detection, Cellular Base Station, Precision frequency reference, and Aquatic mapping.

Performance Parameters of the MAC include a warm-up time of less than 15 minutes, analog tuning range of ±1×10^–8 and a digital tuning range of ±2×10^–8. The time drift in a 24hr period is 1.5μs, typical. The MAC has an impressive MTBF Per MIL-HDBK-217F of ≥20 years at 40 °C and ≥17 years at 40 °C.

The MAC features an RF Output with a frequency of 10 MHz and a waveform CMOS square wave of 0VDC–5VDC(max). The serial communication for configuration and monitoring uses a format of CMOS 0V to 5VDC and a baud rate of 57600bps (8, N, 1). The power input required is 5VDC ± 0.1VDC, with a maximum current of less than 2.8A.

The MAC measures 18.3 x 50.8 x 50.8mm and weighs just 55g. For PCB attachment, the recommended socket is Mill-Max 0332-0-43-80-18-27-10-0.

The MAC is a part of the SparkX products, which are rapidly produced to bring the most cutting edge technology as it becomes available. These products are tested but come with no guarantees. Live technical support is not available for SparkX products.