From High Precision to Innovation: Optical Lattice Clocks for Future Applications

Optica Distinguished Lecture Series on Quantum Science and Technology

Optical lattice clocks achieve 18-digit accuracy, enabling chronometric leveling and paving the way for redefining the second. Advances in compact clock designs, long-distance clock comparisons and continuous interrogation techniques will facilitate their real-world implementation.

About the Speaker

Hidetoshi Katori, born 27 September 1964, is a Japanese physicist and professor at the University of Tokyo best known for having invented the magic wavelength technique for ultra-precise optical lattice atomic clocks. Since 2011, Katori is also Chief Scientist at the Quantum Metrology Lab, RIKEN.

Recently, Katori's group performed a measurement of gravitational redshift with two transportable strontium optical lattice clocks over nearly the entire height of the Tokyo Skytree, setting a new record for the best ground-based test of general relativity.

Continuous Bose-Einstein Condensation and Optical Clocks

Continuous instead of pulsed operation of optical clocks promises a hundred-fold increased measurement bandwidth. On our path to this goal, we achieved continuous Bose-Einstein condensation [Nature 606, 683 (2022)] and build continuously operating optical clocks.

About the Speaker

Prof. Florian Schreck (University of Amsterdam) works on quantum sensors and simulators based on ultracold strontium gases. His research group recently achieved continuous Bose-Einstein condensation, a great starting point for future continuous atom lasers that could be useful for atom interferometry. Using techniques created for that work, his group is developing a new generation of optical clocks, continuously operating superradiant and zero-deadtime clocks. Other projects include the study of ultracold RbSr molecules and quantum simulations using arrays of Rydberg-coupled single Sr atoms. He coordinates the Quantum Delta NL Ultracold Quantum Sensing Testbed and the EU’s AQuRA transportable optical clock project. He is CEO of OpticsFoundry, which has the mission to make optical circuits for quantum devices easy to design, procure and operate.

Integrated, Tunable Multi-wavelength Quantum-dot Semiconductor Lasers

Quantum dots are to lasers, what CMOS is to electronics. In this talk, we will review the compelling benefits of quantum dot lasers and recent performance improvements made in quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers, single-wavelength distributed feedback lasers and multi-wavelength combs.

About the Speaker

Ashok is Chairman and CEO of Axalume Inc, a photonics startup developing tunable lasers and comb lasers for interconnect and sensing applications. He was formerly an Oracle Architect and its Chief Technologist, Photonics responsible for developing and executing on optical interconnect technology for Oracle hardware platforms. Previously, he was a Distinguished Engineer & Director at Sun Microsystems responsible for advanced optical interconnect and silicon photonics development, prior to that President and CTO of AraLight, a Bell Labs spinout that developed CMOS-VCSEL datacom fiber-optic transceivers and before that a founding member of technical staff of the Optical Data Networks research dept. at Bell Labs. He is a distinguished member of Tau Beta Pi and is a fellow of Optica and the IEEE.