Method for manufacturing a magnetron cavity for atomic clocks
AssigneeUniversité SE LiéGe
InventorsThierry Bastin, Emeline Van Der Beken
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Abstract
A computer-assisted method for the dimensioning of a magnetron cavity for an atomic clock, in particular for a hydrogen maser, the cavity being substantially cylindrical and including at least two curved electrodes disposed along a circular arc and delimiting a substantially cylindrical space of predetermined radius r, the cavity also including a substantially cylindrical storage bulb of radius rB disposed in said space such that there is a radial interstice ei between the at least two electrodes and the storage bulb.
Claims14
A computer-assisted method for the dimensioning of a magnetron cavity for an atomic clock, in particular for a hydrogen maser, the cavity being substantially cylindrical and including at least two curved electrodes disposed along a circular arc and delimiting a substantially cylindrical space of predetermined radius r, the cavity also including a substantially cylindrical storage bulb of radius rB disposed in said space such that there is a radial interstice ei between the at least two electrodes and the storage bulb, the method comprising the steps of:
- A) obtaining a set of geometrical parameters of the cavity comprising an initial value of said radial interstice ei, such that the resonance frequency vc of the cavity at a reference temperature is the required resonance frequency, in particular 1420.406 MHz+/−1 MHz, at said reference temperature;
- B) for a plurality of operating temperatures of the clock, determining a potential geometrical deformation of the cavity and determining the resonance frequency associated with said deformation;
- C) determining the frequency-temperature coefficient (FTC) corresponding to the variation of the resonance frequency with respect to said plurality of operating temperatures;
- D) repeating the steps B) and C) for a plurality of values of said interstice ei
- E) determining the radial interstice ei corresponding to the desired frequency-temperature coefficient (FTC).
A magnetron cavity for an atomic clock, in particular for a hydrogen maser, the cavity being substantially cylindrical and including at least two curved electrodes disposed along a circular arc and delimiting a substantially cylindrical space of predetermined radius r, the cavity also including a substantially cylindrical storage bulb of radius rB disposed in said space such that there is a radial interstice ei between the at least two electrodes and the storage bulb
- wherein said interstice lies between approximately 0.1 mm and approximately 2 mm and in that a frequency-temperature coefficient lies between 0 and approximately 70 kHz° C.−1 in absolute value;
- wherein the dimensions of the cavity have been obtained by a computer-assisted method for the dimensioning of a magnetron cavity for an atomic clock, in particular for a hydrogen maser, the cavity being substantially cylindrical and including at least two curved electrodes disposed along a circular arc and delimiting a substantially cylindrical space of predetermined radius r, the cavity also including a substantially cylindrical storage bulb of radius rB disposed in said space such that there is a radial interstice ei between the at least two electrodes and the storage bulb, the method comprising the steps of:
- A) obtaining a set of geometrical parameters of the cavity comprising an initial value of said radial interstice ei, such that the resonance frequency vc of the cavity at a reference temperature is the required resonance frequency, in particular 1420.406 MHz+/−1 MHz, at said reference temperature;
- B) for a plurality of operating temperatures of the clock, determining a potential geometrical deformation of the cavity and determining the resonance frequency associated with said deformation;
- C) determining the frequency-temperature coefficient (FTC) corresponding to the variation of the resonance frequency with respect to said plurality of operating temperatures;
- D) repeating the steps B) and C) for a plurality of values of said interstice ei
- E) determining the radial interstice ei corresponding to the desired frequency-temperature coefficient (FTC).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.