Symmetricom MEMS based chip scale atomic clock integrated onto Jackson Labs Technologies GPSDO

March 17, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRESymmetricom Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMM), time and frequency products maker, and Jackson Labs Technologies Inc., designer and manufacturer of GPS-based time and frequency generation products, signed a joint marketing agreement (JMA) to market and sell Jackson Lab’s CSAC GPSDO timing and frequency board with Symmetricom’s newest member of the QUANTUM family of atomic oscillators, the SA.45s chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC), which uses MEMS technology.

The SA.45s CSAC will be utilized as a holdover oscillator for the COTS CSAC Global Positioning System Disciplined Oscillator (GPSDO). This will benefit GPS-denied environments and can be used in dismounted IED jammers; unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); next-generation man-pack radios and military handheld GPS units.

"Compared to existing OEM atomic oscillators, the CSAC is 1/3rd to 1/30th the size, and it consumes 1/20th to 1/100th of the power. When compared to Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillators (OXCOs), the CSAC consumes only 125 milli-watts, and offers a 3x to 10x improvement in stability and accuracy, a 10x to 100x reduction in g-sensitivity, as well as a reduction of the warm-up and lock time from 15 minutes typically to less than 3 minutes. The hold-over performance of the CSAC is especially beneficial in GPS-denied environments where mission-critical military products are being utilized on a daily basis for tactical operations," noted Said Jackson, president of Jackson Labs Technologies Inc.

A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) that has been highly optimized for this specific application illuminates the atomic vapor resonance cell, and the light that gets through the cell is then detected by the photodetector. The photodetector output signal drives a feedback loop which is used to achieve atomic resonance using the principles of coherent population trapping (CPT).

The only way the physics package connects with the outside world is through a suspension of polyimide strips. All signals that need to go to or from the center stack-up are carried on traces that are printed on the polyimide strips.

The CSAC GPSDO will be marketed and sold from both companies as part of the JMA, and is now available for shipment. Benefits include excellent holdover performance, ultra low power consumption, low height profile, fast-warm up time and 1 pulse per second (PPS) accuracy.

Jackson Labs Technologies, Inc. GPSDO Technology enables extremely small COTS Global Positioning System Disciplined Oscillators (GPSDOs) that have been ruggedized to meet military requirements, in particular the DoD new and emerging timing requirements for manpack, airborne, vehicle-mounted, and stationary applications. For more information, see: http://www.jackson-labs.com/docs.html

Symmetricom’s SA.45s CSAC is a commercially available chip scale atomic clock, providing the accuracy and stability of atomic clock technology while achieving true breakthroughs in reduced size, weight and power consumption. For more information, see: http://www.symmetricom.com/products/frequency-references/chip-scale-atomic-clock-csac/SA.45s-CSAC/

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