Time and Frequency Standards

摘要

As we move towards a world increasingly dominated by technology, the need for accurate and reliable frequency and time standards has risen. The market consists of a variety of devices varying in accuracy, stability and price. This article will briefly review some of the medium performance frequency standards and discuss in depth the atomic frequency standards and their indirect derivatives — GPS, Rubidium Gas Cell, Cesium Beam and Hydrogen Masers. The article will then outline the principle behind the Primary Reference Clock currently under development, with an examination of what the future holds for high performance frequency and time standards.