The separation of atomic energy levels provides previously unobtainable accuracy and precision in metrology, with a système international (SI) traceable reference to frequency and length, which are intrinsically tied to the definition of other SI units such as temperature and voltage. Instrumentation that utilises atomic spectroscopy for metrology remain at the state-of-the-art for atomic clocks, magnetometers and wavelength references. On-chip atomic systems offer a simplicity and design versatility that has found application in the measurement of physical quantities such as time, length, magnetic field, and rotation, finding commercial deployment in navigation, medicine, surveyance and communication. However, the performance trade-offs made to scale down these early proof-of-principle apparatus have largely hindered the capabilities of field deployable atomic sensors. The proposed research will facilitate the needs of a growing quantum technology market through the development of comprehensive chip-scale platforms that are adaptable to a plethora of field-deployable sensing applications.

The research within this project is focused on the miniaturisation of cold-atom systems for chip-scale position navigation and timing. The project will investigate the integration of micro-fabricated components for laser cooling, such as micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) vacuum cells for cold atom physics [1,2]. This study will evaluate cell pressure and alkali density longevity as we explore new mechanisms for mass producibility and vapour cell isolation. This technology is built upon previous research our team has led over the past decade, where microfabricated cold and thermal atom systems have been fabricated and used in the construction of atomic wavelength references [2,3] and clocks. Beyond the platform engineering, the project will utilise the chip-scale platform for microwave atomic clock measurements, with an outlook to fully integrated approach to cold atom metrology. The hybridised micro-engineering and atomic metrology research of this project advances the state-of-art in chip-scale capabilities while providing a sovereign lab-on-a-chip research programme.