Project: Robust Optical Clocks for International Timescales
| Acronym | ROCIT (Reference Number: 18SIB05) |
| Duration | 01/05/2019 - 30/04/2022 |
| Project Topic | Advances in telecoms and GPS technologies place increasing demands on the stability and accuracy of international reference timescales. Optical clocks offer better frequency stability and timing certainty than caesium primary frequency standards, and a redefinition of the second is anticipated based on potential for orders-of-magnitude improvements to accuracy. However, optical clocks aren’t yet accepted for international timescales as monitoring and user intervention is required. Systematic frequency shifts need to be accounted for, plus automated validation is necessary. The project targets unattended uptimes of 80 % to 90 % over weeks for two types of optical clocks. Optical fibre and satellite links will be used to compare frequencies, while traceability to the present definition of the SI second will be provided by absolute frequency measurements relative to caesium primary standards. The techniques and hardware developed should lead to smaller optical clocks, while significant science and innovation impacts are expected to arise from international consistency and long-term reliability through realisation and dissemination of a new SI unit of time. |
| Website | visit project website |
| Network | EMPIR |
| Call | EMPIR Call 2018 |
Project partner
| Number | Name | Role | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NPL Management Limited | Coordinator | United Kingdom |
| 2 | Cesky Metrologicky Institut | Partner | Czech Republic |
| 3 | Central Office of Measures | Partner | Poland |
| 4 | Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica | Partner | Italy |
| 5 | Laboratoire national de métrologie et d'essais | Partner | France |
| 6 | Observatoire de Paris | Partner | France |
| 7 | Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt | Partner | Germany |
| 8 | Teknologian tutkimuskeskus VTT Oy | Partner | Finland |
| 9 | Ben-Gurion University of the Negev | Partner | Israel |
| 10 | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique | Partner | France |
| 11 | Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover | Partner | Germany |
| 12 | Politecnico di Torino | Partner | Italy |
| 13 | Centrum Badan Kosmicznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk | Partner | Poland |
| 14 | Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika w Toruniu | Partner | Poland |