Vescent Brings Optical Clocks to the Market with DFM

Vescent and the Danish National Metrology Institute (DFM) announce a highly accurate user-configurable optical clock assembled entirely from their commercially available components achieving 200 femtoseconds (0.0000000000002 s) timing instabilities at one second and sub nanosecond holdover at one day. Using Vescent’s commercially available, market-leading optical frequency comb (OFC), the FFC-100, to down-convert the clock cycle to the RF and the wavelength-stabilized output of the DFM Stabiλaser 1542^ε as the clock laser, this powerful combination of components (including the Vescent SLICE-FPGA-II) yields a “Box to Clock” in less than 30 minutes (including warm-up time for all three devices), which customers can purchase today in North America for an introductory price of US$199,500 with a current lead-time of 6 to 12 weeks. Vescent is the exclusive Distributor for the DFM Stabiλaser 1542^ε in the US and Canada.

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Vescent FFC-100 and SLICE FPGA II with the DFM Stabiλaser 1542ε (Photo: Vescent)

Microwave atomic clocks based on hydrogen, cesium, and rubidium sources have been around for decades and have had tremendous impact on the economy and national security. For example, a recent Study on the Economic Benefits of GPS commissioned by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), estimates that GPS generated $1.4 trillion in U.S. economic benefits since the system became available in the 1980s.

This great success is also a vulnerability. GPS can be jammed, spoofed, and even disabled. The solution exists in next-generation clocks, so-called "optical clocks," that have shown unprecedented timing performance in laboratory environments. Until now, optical clocks, which reference a quantum transition at optical, rather than RF, frequencies, have been confined to custom-built laboratories. The combination of commercially available optical frequency combs from Vescent and the Stabiλaser from DFM present, for the first time, manufacture-ready optical clock solutions. This technology will provide a backup to GPS, enable improved RADAR and imaging systems, data center synchronization, quantum computing, quantum networking, securing financial markets, high-speed trading, and aid national security.

“There is an unmet need for quantum-stabilized references in the optical domain,” said Michael Kjær, CEO of DFM. “Partnering with DFM, a metrology leader, is a perfect fit for Vescent, given our NIST-Boulder and JILA (at the University of Colorado) heritage and commercialization track record,” said Scott Davis, CEO of Vescent.

The design and performance of this optical clock will be highlighted at the upcoming Precise Time and Time Interval Conference (PTTI) in Long Beach, California, in the Advanced and Future Clocks session on January 25^th, 2024. For additional technical information, you can download our white paper.

About DFM

DFM is a world-leading national metrology institute (NMI). It provides a wide range of services and products to private and public companies and authorities in areas related to metrology and accreditation. Primary activities include the construction and maintenance of the Danish metrological infrastructure and providing leading edge optical frequency standards. To find out more, visit dfm.dk.

About Vescent

Vescent is leading and enabling the commercialization of Quantum Technologies in the lab and in the field. It has been providing frequency Combs, Lasers, and Controls to 100s of customers on the front lines of scaling the commercial quantum ecosystem throughout the world with low-SWaP, ruggedness, and IP. Vescent is based in Golden, CO, and is working to overcome the challenges of enabling Quantum 2.0 as it scales out. To find out more, visit vescent.com.

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