Missions

The mission is to develop an ultrastable laser at 1542 nm based on a 40 cm Fabry-Perot cavity equipped with crystalline mirrors, which thermal noise is so low that it opens the way to relative resolutions of a few 1e-17 at 1 s. The objective is to interrogate with this new optical master oscillator the 7 SYRTE atomic clocks at the stability limit allowed by the atomic quantum projection noise, thus opening the way to optically based time scales.

Activités

The candidate will implement optical and seismometric methods to reach the noise limit of the long cavity. He/she will also develop operational setups to transfer the stability obtained at 1542 nm to 265.5 nm, 578 nm and 698 nm (to probe respectively Hg, Yb and Sr cold atoms in the SYRTE optical lattice clocks), and to 9.2 GHz and 6.8 GHz (respectively for Cs and Rb cold atoms in the SYRTE microwave fountains). He/she will quantify the metrological performance of the resulting signals and will work closely with the clock teams to study experimentally and theoretically the resolution that clock comparisons can achieve with the provided signal.

Compétences

The candidate must have a PhD in experimental physics. A strong interest in experimental work is necessary, skills in optics, laser, electronics and Python programming are required. Knowledge of optical frequency combs and ultrastable Fabry-Perot cavities is an asset.

Contexte de travail

The SYRTE cavity/comb group is composed of about 4 people. This 1542 nm source will be at the heart of SYRTE's metrological architecture: a good team spirit, as well as a good knowledge of English, are therefore absolutely necessary.

Informations complémentaires

Funded by the collaborative project NEXTLASERS (https://www.ptb.de/empir2021/nextlasers/home/) within the European EMPIR (European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research) Programme.