Frequency ratio of an 115In+ ion clock and a 87Sr optical lattice clock.

We report on the first, to the best of our knowledge, frequency ratio measurement of an 115In+ singleion clock and a 87Sr optical lattice clock. A hydrogen maser serves as a flywheel oscillator to measure the ratio by independent optical combs. From 89,000 s of measurement time, the frequency ratio fIn/fSr is determined to be 2.952 748 749 874 863 3(23) with 7.7×10-16 relative uncertainty. The measurement creates a new connection in the network of frequency ratios of optical clocks.

Frequency measurement of the clock transition of an indium ion sympathetically-cooled in a linear trap.

We report frequency measurement of the clock transition in an 115In+ ion sympathetically-cooled with Ca+ ions in a linear rf trap. The Ca+ ions are used as a probe of the external electromagnetic field and as the coolant for preparing the cold In+. The frequency is determined to be 1 267 402 452 901 049.9 (6.9) Hz by averaging 36 measurements using an optical frequency comb referenced to the frequency standards located in the same site.

A simplified 461-nm laser system using blue laser diodes and a hollow cathode lamp for laser cooling of Sr.

We develop a simplified light source at 461 nm for laser cooling of Sr without frequency-doubling crystals but with blue laser diodes. An anti-reflection coated blue laser diode in an external cavity (Littrow) configuration provides an output power of 40 mW at 461 nm. Another blue laser diode is used to amplify the laser power up to 110 mW by injection locking. For frequency stabilization, we demonstrate modulation-free polarization spectroscopy of Sr in a hollow cathode lamp. The simplification of the laser system achieved in this work is of great importance for the construction of transportable optical lattice clocks.

Buffer-gas-assisted polarization spectroscopy of 6Li.

We report on the demonstration of Doppler-free polarization spectroscopy of the D2 line of (6)Li atoms. Counterintuitively, the presence of an Ar buffer gas, in a certain pressure range, causes a drastic enhancement of the polarization rotation signal. The observed dependence of the signal amplitude on the Ar buffer pressure and the pump laser power is reproduced by calculations based on simple rate equations. We performed stable laser frequency locking using a dispersion signal obtained by polarization spectroscopy for laser cooling of (6)Li atoms.