JPS646549B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a gas cell type rubidium atomic oscillator using optical pumping, and particularly to a temperature control structure of a rubidium lamp section.

In a conventional gas cell type rubidium atomic oscillator, the temperatures of the rubidium lamp section and the rubidium gas cell section of the optical-microwave resonance section are controlled separately by independent temperature controllers and heaters.
The rubidium lamp part is kept at about 100°C because it requires sufficient spectral intensity, and the rubidium gas cell part is kept at about 70°C because it requires a sufficient absorption level. Rubidium lamps are housed in a housing box or lamp house made of metal (Al, Cu, etc.) in order to stabilize the temperature of their spectral intensity, and a relatively large heating element ( Wire heaters, thin film plate heaters, etc.) are used. However, since the heat capacity of the lamp section is smaller than that of the cell section, it is easily affected by changes in the temperature of the outside air, and has the disadvantage that the performance of the rubidium atomic oscillator deteriorates due to changes in the outside air temperature. Furthermore, since the lamp section and the cell section are housed in independent storage boxes and their temperatures are controlled separately, there is a drawback that thermal efficiency is poor. Moreover, it is disadvantageous for downsizing.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and
The object of the present invention is to provide a rubidium atomic oscillator that has good thermal stability, consumes little power, and is suitable for miniaturization.

The oscillator of the present invention includes a rubidium lamp section, a rubidium gas cell section, a light-microwave resonance section including a cavity resonator containing the gas cell section, and a first temperature control section that maintains the rubidium lamp section at a predetermined temperature. a second temperature control section that maintains the rubidium gas cell section at a predetermined temperature different from the above; and a second temperature control section that generates microwaves based on the photodetection output of the light-microwave resonance section, and uses the microwave output to control the rubidium gas cell. a lamp light introduction tube capable of accommodating the rubidium lamp section is provided protruding from the cavity resonator or its outer wall, and the rubidium lamp section is connected to the lamp light introduction tube. In the internally disposed rubidium atomic oscillator, the first temperature control section includes a temperature controller and a transistor heater, and the transistor heater is fixed integrally with the rubidium lamp section.

Note that the transistor heater utilizes the heat generation phenomenon of a transistor, and the amount of heat generated can be controlled by controlling the amount of collector current using the base current.

Next, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. That is, the light-microwave resonator 13 includes a rubidium lamp 1, a transistor heater 2, a filter cell 3, a rubidium gas cell 4, a cavity resonator 5, a heater 6, an excitation coil 7, an exciter 8, a first
temperature controller 9, second temperature controller 10, solar cell 11, lamp mount 12, lamp light introduction tube 14
etc., and the output of the solar cell 11 is connected to the circuit component 1.
5 and output from the circuit component 15 to supply microwave energy to the gas cell 4. The circuit component 15 is completely the same as the conventional one, and the oscillation operation and oscillation mechanism of the light-microwave resonance part 13 consisting of the lamp part 1, the gas cell 4, etc. and the circuit component 15 are exactly the same as the conventional one. , the explanation is omitted. However, in this embodiment, the rubidium lamp 1 is mounted on a lamp mount 12 in which the excitation coil 7 is buried, and the light introduction tube 1 is
It is housed within 4. The light introduction tube 14 projects in a cylindrical shape from the cavity resonator 5 containing the gas cell 4, and the filter cell 3 is interposed between the lamp 1 and the gas cell 4 within the introduction tube. The cavity resonator 5 is wound with a heater 6, and the heater 6 is a second
The current is controlled by a temperature controller 10, and the inside of the cavity resonator 5 including the gas cell section and the lamp light introduction tube 14 is controlled at about 70°C. Therefore,
The ambient temperature of the lamp 1 is always about 70° C. regardless of the outside temperature. The heater 6 and the temperature controller 10 constitute a second temperature control section. A transistor heater 2 is fixed to the rear of the lamp 1, and the current of the transistor heater 2 is controlled by a first temperature controller 9 to be maintained at about 100°C. Therefore, lamp 1 is also maintained at about 100°C. Since the ambient temperature of the lamp 1 is approximately 70°C as described above, the amount of heat generated by the transistor 2 to maintain the temperature at 100°C is small. Also, the temperature of lamp 1 is
It does not become unstable due to changes in outside temperature. That is, there is an effect that stable temperature control can be performed with low power consumption. In addition, since the lamp 1 and the transistor heating element 2 are integrated and housed within the lamp light introduction tube 14, it is advantageous for miniaturization as a whole.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the transistor heat generator 2 and rubidium lamp 1 used in the above embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the cavity resonator 5 and the like. In FIG. 2, a rubidium lamp 1 has a heat sink 1 in which a transistor heating element 2 is embedded.
The heating element 2 and the heat sink 16 are also used as a mounting bracket for the lamp 1. Further, as understood from FIG. 3, the rubidium lamp 1 is mounted within the lamp light introduction tube 14. Further, a heater 6 is wound around the cavity resonator 5, and is controlled at about 70° C. by a second temperature controller 10. Therefore, the ambient temperature of the lamp 1 is stable at about 70° C. as described above.

As described above, in the present invention, in a structure in which a cylindrical lamp light introduction tube is provided protruding from a cavity resonator containing a gas cell part or its outer wall, and a rubidium lamp part is provided inside the hollow resonator, the rubidium lamp is Since the temperature of the rubidium lamp is controlled by closely fixing the transistor heating element to the rear part, the temperature control mechanism of the rubidium lamp can be made smaller and simpler, and the temperature can be controlled stably with low power consumption overall. I can do it.

Therefore, the spectral intensity of the rubidium lamp is stabilized, the characteristics of the oscillator are improved, and the structure of the rubidium atomic oscillator can be made simple and compact.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a perspective view showing the rubidium lamp and the transistor heating element of the above embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship of the cavity resonator, light introduction tube, lamp, etc. of the above embodiment. In the figure, 1... rubidium lamp, 2...
Transistor heating element, 3...Filter cell, 4
... Gas cell, 5 ... Cavity resonator, 6 ... Heater, 7 ... Excitation coil, 8 ... Exciter, 9 ...
...first temperature controller, 10...second temperature controller, 11...solar cell, 12...lamp mount,
13...Light-microwave resonance section, 14...Lamp light introduction tube, 15...Circuit component, 16...Heat sink.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rubidium lamp section, a rubidium gas cell section, a light-microwave resonance section including a cavity resonator containing the gas cell section, and a first section for maintaining the rubidium lamp section at a predetermined temperature.
a second temperature control section that maintains the rubidium gas cell section at a predetermined temperature different from the above; and a second temperature control section that generates microwaves based on the photodetection output of the light-microwave resonance section and outputs the microwaves. a circuit component for supplying microwave energy to the rubidium gas cell section, a lamp light introduction tube capable of accommodating the rubidium lamp section protruding from the cavity resonator or its outer wall; In the rubidium atomic oscillator disposed inside the lamp light introduction tube, the first temperature control section includes a temperature controller and a transistor heater, and the transistor heater is fixed integrally with the rubidium lamp section. Features a rubidium atomic oscillator.