ABSTRACT In this paper, we describe a laboratory prototype of pulsed optically pumped clock based on a rubidium vapor cell with buffer gas. The measured frequency stability (overlapping Allan deviation) is σy(τ) = 3× 10-12 τ-1/2 and the level of 4× 10-14 is reached for averaging time of τ = 3× 104 s. For the same set of data, the statistical tool Theol predicts a frequency stability of 2× 10-14 for τ = 105 s. This result confirms the theoretical predictions regarding this kind of frequency standard and makes it very attractive for satellite navigation and space applications in which a simple and reliable implementation is required, and the short and medium term stability (till one day) is the main concern.
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