The pulsed optically pumped Rb frequency standard: A proposal for a space atomic clock

In this work we describe the main features of a Rb clock developed at INRIM and its preliminary industrialization approach made by Selex-ES. The clock operates at the Rb ground-state hyperfine frequency (6834 MHz) in pulsed regime; the pulsed optical pumping (POP) allows to make negligible the mutual interference between optical and microwave signals so that a frequency stability comparable to that of a passive H-maser has been achieved but with a much simpler system. The industrialization plan aims at investigating the possibility to reproduce the good results obtained by the INRIM laboratory prototype into a device suited to work in space.