171Yb+ Microwave Clock for Military and Commercial Applications

Ion traps are a rugged, proven technology that supports high-performance and manufacturable time keeping solutions. Our approach to this implementation is based on the 12.6 GHz hyperfine transition of
¹⁷¹
Yb
⁺
ions confined in a linear Paul trap. We report an instability of 6×10
^-13
τ
^-1/2
up to averaging time τ = 100 s in the presence of buffer gas, which is a 40% improvement from our previous report. The ion trap is implemented in a 2U-compatible enclosure, which is characterized by ion storage times >95 days and Allan deviation down to 4×10
^-15
at τ = 2×10
⁵
s.