Dual-Mode Operation of an Optical Lattice Clock Using Strontium and Ytterbium Atoms

We have developed an optical lattice clock that can operate in dual modes: a strontium (Sr) clock mode and an ytterbium (Yb) clock mode. Dual-mode operation of the Sr-Yb optical lattice clock is achieved by alternately cooling and trapping
⁸⁷
Sr and
¹⁷¹
Yb atoms inside the vacuum chamber of the clock. Optical lattices for Sr and Yb atoms were arranged with horizontal and vertical configurations, respectively, resulting in a small distance of the order of 100 μm between the trapped Sr and Yb atoms. The
¹
S
₀
-
³
P
₀
clock transitions in the trapped atoms were interrogated in turn and the clock lasers were stabilized to the transitions. We demonstrated the frequency ratio measurement of the Sr and Yb clock transitions by using the dual-mode operation of the Sr-Yb optical lattice clock. The dual-mode operation can reduce the uncertainty of the blackbody radiation shift in the frequency ratio measurement, because both Sr and Yb atoms share the same blackbody radiation.