Symmetricom Chip Scale Atomic Clock (CSAC)

Object Details

Symmetricom, Incorporated

Description

Chip-scale atomic clocks (CSAC) have components comparable in size to the integrated circuits (“chips”) used in modern electronic equipment. They were first developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2004. The first commercial version is this cesium CSAC with model number SA.45s, produced by Symmetricom, Inc., in Beverley, Mass., and sold beginning in 2011. Its “physics package” (the set of components that generate the cesium frequency) occupies less than 1 cubic centimeter, thousands of times smaller and lighter than the beam tube of a conventional cesium atomic clock and operates on very different principles. Furthermore, the energy consumption is much less, making extended operation on battery power feasible. Developing such a small clock required many innovations in several disciplines, including semiconductor laser technology, silicon processing, vacuum-packing and firmware algorithms. Its portability and low energy consumption have made possible many new applications, such as geophysical sensors, backpack jammers for improvised explosive devices, backpack military radios, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and military GPS receivers, but, as of 2013, it has not yet been used in space.

Location

Currently not on view

ID Number

2011.0207.01

accession number

2011.0207

catalog number

2011.0207.01

Object Name

atomic clock

Physical Description

metal (clock material)

cardboard, foam (box material)

Measurements

clock: 1 in x 2 in x 1 3/4 in; 2.54 cm x 5.08 cm x 4.445 cm

box: 1 1/2 in x 4 3/4 in x 4 1/4 in; 3.81 cm x 12.065 cm x 10.795 cm

overall-box: 1 1/8 in x 4 3/8 in x 3 7/8 in; 2.8575 cm x 11.1125 cm x 9.8425 cm

overall-clock: 1/2 in x 1 5/8 in x 1 3/8 in; 1.27 cm x 4.1275 cm x 3.4925 cm

See more items in

Medicine and Science: Modern Physics

Time and Navigation

Measuring & Mapping

National Museum of American History

Record ID

nmah_1419239

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-9938-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa