A Prototype of a Compact Rubidium-Based

Optical Frequency Reference for Operation on

Nanosatellites
A ARON S TRANGFELD 1,2 , S IMON K ANTHAK 1,2 , M AX S CHIEMANGK 2 ,
B ENJAMIN W IEGAND 1 , A NDREAS W ICHT 2 , A LEXANDER L ING 3,4 AND
arXiv:2105.02021v1 [physics.atom-ph] 5 May 2021

M ARKUS K RUTZIK 1,2

1 Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany
2 Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Strasse 4. 12489
Berlin, Germany
3 Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, Block S15, 3 Science Drive 2,
Singapore 117543
4 Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Block S12, 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117551

Abstract: Space-borne optical frequency references based on spectroscopy of atomic vapors

may serve as an integral part of compact optical atomic clocks, which can advance global
navigation systems, or can be utilized for earth observation missions as part of laser systems for
cold atom gradiometers. Nanosatellites offer low launch-costs, multiple deployment opportunities
and short payload development cycles, enabling rapid maturation of optical frequency references
and underlying key technologies in space. Towards an in-orbit demonstration on such a platform,
we have developed a CubeSat-compatible prototype of an optical frequency reference based on
the D2-transition in rubidium. A frequency instability of 1.7×10−12 at 1 s averaging time is
achieved. The optical module occupies a volume of 35 cm3 , weighs 73 g and consumes 780 mW
of power.

© 2021 Optical Society of America

1. Introduction
Optical frequency references (OFR) based on spectroscopy of atomic vapors can be used as
key components of optical clocks and quantum sensors based on cold atoms. Prospective
applications in space range from time keeping [1], navigation [2], geodesy [3] to high-precision
measurements in fundamental physics, such as clock comparisons [4] and gravitational wave
detection [5]. As OFRs are on their way from realizations in the laboratory to field applications,
further development efforts and increased technical maturity are required, especially in case of
cost-intensive space missions that demand a low risk of failure for all subsystems.
CubeSats, nanosatellites made up of units of about 1 kg in mass and 10 × 10 × 10 cm3 in
volume, offer a platform for cost-effective and fast-paced development and testing, incrementally
increasing the technology readiness of the payloads [6]. Apart from building up space heritage,
this in-orbit qualification can also close gaps between laboratory setups and potential commercial
applications. Such efforts have already been carried out successfully for quantum communication
by demonstrating in-orbit quantum entanglement on-board a CubeSat [7]. A mission for orbit-to-
ground transmission of entanglement on this platform [8] is scheduled for 2022 and a CubeSat
containing a cold atom system [9] has been presented, recently.
OFRs based on optical lattices or trapped ions currently offer the highest achievable performance
with fractional frequency instabilities at the 10−18 level at timescales greater than 103 s [10, 11].
Systems based on atomic beams and Ramsey-Bordé interferometry can be smaller while still
achieving fractional frequency instabilities at the order of 10−15 at timescales greater than 1 s [12].
However, even compact versions of both types [13, 14] exceed the size, weight and power (SWaP)
budget of CubeSats. In contrast, OFRs based on atomic vapors have the potential to meet
these SWaP requirements. The most compact and therefore easiest to integrate devices are
chip-scale atomic clocks (CSAC), which make use of coherent population trapping (CPT) [15],
but only achieve instabilities of 10−10 at 1 s averaging time [16–18]. OFRs based on Doppler-free
spectroscopy of alkali metals are more complex, but compact designs can achieve instabilities
1000 times lower. The operation of this type of atomic vapor based OFRs in space has already
been shown during various sounding rocket missions [19–21] and the Cold Atom Laboratory
mission onboard the International Space Station [22]. Miniaturization is realized by using small
optical breadboards [23–26] or micro-integration of optical components [27, 28] around the
alkali vapor cells. Especially, integration of the light source and the spectroscopy unit into one
package [29] as well as the use of MEMS vapor cells [30–32] enable major size reduction of the
systems. Reaching the SWaP threshold for nanosatellite implementation is thus realistic.
In this work, we present a miniaturized prototype of an OFR for operation on a CubeSat, which is
based on the spectroscopy of the D2-transition in rubidium using a micro-integrated distributed
feedback (DFB) laser diode. The paper is structured as follows. First, the design of the module
is presented in Section 2. Second, the operating conditions are described in Section 3. Third,
the performance evaluation is shown in Section 4, where the Allan deviation of the frequency is
determined by using an additional reference stabilized to the D2-transition. Finally, an outlook
towards a complete CubeSat payload is given in Section 5.

2. Design
The optical design of the OFR is realized by a linear arrangement of the optical components as
depicted in Figure 1a and is inspired by a previously developed master oscillator power amplifier
system [33]. A pair of lenses (Fast Axis Collimating (FAC) and Slow Axis Collimating (SAC))
(a)
65 mm

(1)(2) (3) (4) (7) (8) (9) (9) (8) (7) (11)
(12)

(5) (10)
(1) Mirror (7) Isolator
(2) Quarter Wave Plate (8) SAC
(6) (3) Rb Vapor Cell (9) FAC
(4) PBS (10) DFB Laser
(5) Lens (11) Collimator
(6) Photo Diode (12) PM fiber

(b)

Fig. 1. Design of the OFR. (a) The optical components are arranged longitudinally.
This leads to simple alignment but also to the vapor cell being close to the rear optical
isolator. The sizes of the components are true to scale. (b) The assembled module is
shown with a One-Euro coin for scale. The electrical feedthroughs are from left to
right: detector power, detector signal, DFB current, NTC and TEC.

collimates the light on each side of a 1.5 mm long GaAs DFB laser [34]. Semi-double stage
optical isolators (60 dB) protect the laser diode against optical feedback. The light emitted from
the laser’s front (right) output is coupled into a polarization maintaining (PM) single-mode fiber.
The light emitted from the laser’s rear (left) output is used for spectroscopy of rubidium utilizing
a vapor cell made of borosilicate glass with angled windows. The rear facet emits only about
3 % of the total optical output power due to its reflective coating. At the working point, this
corresponds to 2 mW directly from the diode. Proper attenuation is achieved by rotating the
rear optical isolator. A beam diameter of 600 µm and an optical power incident on the vapor
cell of 30 µW correspond to a saturation parameter of 𝑆 = 4. Based on preceding breadboard
system investigations, we expected reaching the optimum slope-to-noise ratio at this level of
saturation. The retro-reflecting scheme, where the pump beam is turned into the probe beam at
the mirror, enables Doppler-free spectroscopy [35]. A double-passed quarter wave plate between
the vapor cell and the aforementioned mirror rotates the polarization axis such that the reflected
probe beam can be deflected by the polarizing beam splitter (PBS). A lens focuses the probe
light onto a fast photo diode with a bandwidth of 500 MHz, which is mounted on an amplifying
circuit board. Frequency modulation spectroscopy (FMS) [36], realized by modulation of the
laser’s injection current at a frequency of 6.6 MHz, generates an error signal for a feedback-loop.
The injection current into the laser also serves as the actuator for the stabilization of the laser’s
emission frequency.
The optical components are mounted on 1 mm thick benches made of aluminum for the
spectroscopy unit on the left and aluminum nitride (AlN) for the laser unit on the right in
Figure 1b. The coefficient of thermal expansion of AlN is close to the one of the GaAs DFB
laser chip. This leads to reduced mechanical stress on the diode laser under temperature
variations. A low-out-gassing, heat conductive adhesive foil connects both benches to a common
thermo-electric cooler (TEC) for thermal control. The TEC itself is attached to an aluminum heat
sink utilizing the same type of adhesive foil. A 10 kΩ negative temperature coefficient (NTC)
resistor next to the DFB laser measures the temperature to provide feedback to a temperature
controller acting on the TEC. The amplifying detector circuit board and the electronics interface
board are attached to the heat sink by screws. The interface board allows for transition from
compact electrical connectors to wire bonds for the laser unit. Gold plated and structured AlN
rails are used as intermediate platforms for the wire bonds. At the current development stage, the
prototype is encased in aluminum walls screwed to the heat sink. Figure 1b shows the assembled
module, named iQube (integrated Quantum technology subsystem for CubeSats), with an acrylic
glass lid for demonstration purposes.
The linear design enables simple active alignment of the optical components. Furthermore, the
usage of a single TEC for both the laser diode and the vapor cell reduces the number of necessary
temperature controllers. The size constraints of a 1U CubeSat and the space required for fiber
bending limit the module’s length to 70 mm. Table 1 summarizes iQube’s SWaP as it is depicted
in Figure 1b. We achieved a coupling efficiency of 37 % corresponding to an optical output power
of 8 mW with a minimum polarization extinction ratio of 31 dB. Higher coupling efficiency could
have been achieved by optimization of the position of both collimating lenses simultanously. We
optimized the position and attached the lenses one after the other as we were limited by the used
assembly facilities.

Table 1. Size, Weight and Power consumption of the optical module as depicted
in Figure 1b.

Size 70 × 26 × 19.2 mm3

Weight 73 g
Power 780 mW
Due to the constraints regarding the length of the module, we had to place the rear optical isolator
and the vapor cell within 28 mm. With a length of 5 mm and 2.5 mm of the optical isolator and
the PBS, respectively, 20 mm remained for the vapor cell if a minimum distance of 0.25 mm is
kept between the components. To quantitatively evaluate the effect of the isolator’s magnetic
field, its impact for different cell lengths was simulated.
The isolator (Isowave I-780-LM-SD-1.4-4) contains two oppositely oriented samarium cobalt
(SmCo28) ring magnets with a magnetic remanence of 1.06 × 104 G. Their centers are separated
by a distance of 2.0 mm and placed at a distance of 1.5 mm to the isolators edge on each side.
Based on the geometry of the ring magnets (0.89 mm length, 1.20 mm inner radius and 1.86 mm
outer radius) the magnetic field could be modelled using the equations for the magnetic field
strength of ring magnets (see e. g. Appendix F in [37]).
Figure 2a shows the resulting distance-dependent magnetic field strength along the optical axis.
Based on this field, Doppler-free spectra of the 𝐹 = 3 to 𝐹 0 = 4 transition in 85 Rb were simulated
with ElecSus [38, 39], an open source software. The length of the vapor cell was identified
with the length of the optical path through a rubidium ensemble. Lorentzians were fitted
to the generated spectra and the peak-to-width ratio served as a quantitative measure for the
FMS signal slope. The impact of the line splitting depends on the linewidth without magnetic
field.√We based the simulation on a saturation parameter of 𝑆 = 4 resulting in a linewidth of
𝛾s = 5 × 6 MHz = 13.4 MHz. Figure 2b shows the behaviour of the signal slope with increasing
length of the vapor cell (optical path length). Additionally, the slope without the influence of a
magnetic field is shown. There is an optimum at a length of 16 mm. We realized the system
with a 15 mm long vapor cell (17 mm with windows) placed at a distance of 8 mm to the optical
isolator, which results in 70 % of the slope achievable without a magnetic field and maximum
cell length.

Distance z (mm)
23 18 13 8 3
102
B-Field (G)

101

100

1
(a)
10
L

1.0
Without B-Field
Signal Slope

0.8 With B-Field

Norm.

0.6
0.4
0.2
(b)
0.0
0 5 10 15 20
Length L (mm)

Fig. 2. Simulation of the effect of the rear isolator’s magnetic field on the slope of the
FMS signal. (a) Distance-dependent magnetic field of the semi-double stage isolator
with the distance 𝑧 measured from its edge. (b) Simulated signal slope for different cell
lengths normalized to its value with a cell length of 20 mm and no magnetic field. The
schematic between the graphs visualizes the cell length variation at maximum distance
to the optical isolator.
3. Operation
For stabilization of the laser frequency we developed Linien [40], an open-source software
that runs on a RedPitaya StemLab-14 device. This platform provides fast analog-to-digital
and digital-to-analog converters (125 MS/s with a resolution of 14 bit) as well as an on-board
field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and a complete Linux system in a compact form factor.
On this system, we implemented generation of the modulation signal, demodulation of the
spectroscopy signal, digital filtering of the signal and the proportional-integral-differential (PID)
controller that generates the control signal with a servo bandwidth of about 700 kHz. In order
to automatically optimize the slope of the FMS signal by tuning spectroscopy parameters,
(modulation frequency, modulation index and demodulation phase), Linien utilizes a covariance
matrix adaptation evolution strategy [41]. Furthermore, an automatic re-locking algorithm is
able to relocate the original locking point after signal loss.
A current driver based on a modified Libbrecht-Hall design [42] supplies the current for the
laser diode. Temperature control is realized by a compact commercial controller (Meerstetter
TEC-1091).
To find an optimum working point under laboratory conditions, the signal amplitude and total
power consumption was measured at different temperatures after optimization of the spectroscopy
parameters. The temperature measurement is realized by the NTC placed next to the DFB laser.
Figure 3a shows that the amplitude enters a plateau at temperatures below 39 ◦ C. The FMS signal
at 37.0 ◦ C is shown with an indication of the determined signal amplitude in the inlay. The
decrease at higher temperatures originates from lower optical power from the laser diode as
a result of lowered driving current to match the transition’s wavelength. Figure 3b shows the
temperature dependent power consumption of the subsystems and the total power consumption.
The TEC’s power consumption is reduced by 70 % within a temperature decrease of 4 K. The total
power consumption decreases as well by about 6 %/K. A working point of 37.0 ◦ C with a total
power consumption of 780 mW is chosen for the performance evaluation. This is a compromise
between lower power consumption at lower temperatures and increased lifetime of the laser due
to a lower injection current at higher temperatures [43].

4. Performance
The performance of the module was evaluated in terms of the Allan deviation of the relative
frequency deviation 𝑦 = Δ𝜈
𝜈0 :
√︂
1
𝜎𝑦 (𝜏) = h(𝑦 𝑛+1 − 𝑦 𝑛 ) 2 i, (1)
2
where 𝑛 is the index of the measured time series of length 𝜏. The frequency deviation was
measured by beat-note measurements, where two additional frequency references "Ref1" [20] and
"Ref2" [24] stabilized on the D2-transition of rubidium were used. Ref1 was previously developed
for technology demonstration on a TEXUS sounding rocket mission and is based on frequency
modulation of the laser current. Ref2 serves as a reference laser for an atom interferometer and is
based on modulation transfer spectroscopy (MTS) [44]. In each reference a DFB laser is used.
The resulting Allan deviation is an upper limit for iQube’s contribution to the frequency instability.

Figure 4 shows the Allan deviations of the three beat-note frequencies. The presented module
achieves an Allan deviation of 1.7 × 10−12 at 1 s averaging time and a minimum of 3.4 × 10−13
at 102 s based on the beat-note with Ref2. At times larger than 102 s there is an increase of the
Allan deviation which cannot be compensated by removing a linear drift. We expect this to be
the result of ambient temperature variations affecting iQube or Ref2.
The frequency stability is also compared to the one achieved by a compact breadboard system for
 80

Consumption (W) Amplitude (a.u.)

60

Signal
40
(a)
1.2 DFB Peltier Detector Total
0.9
Power

0.6
0.3
(b)
0.0
35 36 37 38 39 40 41
Operating Temperature ( C)

Fig. 3. Temperature dependent signal amplitude (a) and power consumption of the
module under laboratory conditions (b). The inlay in (a) depicts the determination of
the amplitude from the spectroscopy signal. With increasing temperature, the driving
current of the laser diode is decreased to match the D2-transition’s wavelength. The
lower optical power results in a signal amplitude decrease at temperatures above 39 ◦ C.
A working point at 37 ◦ C indicated by the dashed gray line was selected. Working
points at lower temperatures, higher diode currents and finally lower power consumption
would be realizable, but would also further reduce the lifetime of the diode.

two-photon spectroscopy of rubidium presented in [30]. There, a distributed Bragg reflector laser
is used. Figure 5 shows a comparison of iQube’s performance, measured by the Allan deviation
at 1 s averaging time, and volume to other compact optical frequency references based on atomic
vapors. Our module lines up with the other most compact systems that achieve Allan deviation
of 10−11 and below with 1 s averaging time: [29] and [30].

5. Discussion & Outlook

We have presented the design and performance evaluation of a compact fiber-coupled OFR based
on spectroscopy of the D2-transition in rubidium. With a volume of 70 × 26 × 19.2 mm3 , the
module fits into a 1U CubeSat and occupies 3.5 % of its volume. The mass of 73 g consumes
5 % of the mass budget. The evaluation of the power consumption of 780 mW needs to be done
in relation to the complete payload including a fast processing system and a temperature and
current controller. Figure 6 shows such a system occupying 0.6U of a CubeSat. The RedPitaya
StemLab equipped with an FPGA is at the bottom, the temperature controller is on the right, the
current driver is in the upper left and the optical module is placed in the upper right. The power
consumption of this payload would be 6.4 W under laboratory conditions, which is dominated by
the RedPitaya StemLab consuming 4.0 W when idle and 4.8 W when operating the OFR. A power
budget of this size could only be realized by deployable solar panels on a 1U CubeSat, which
would, however, increase the risk of failure during satellite deployment. A realization on a 2U or
3U CubeSat with a higher number of solar panels attached to its hull would thus be more realistic.
A presented power consumption of 12 W of a complete operating cold atom CubeSat system [9]
hints towards the possibility of reduced power consumption especially for the control electronics.
At an averaging time of 1 s, the iQube OFR achieved an Allan deviation of 1.7 × 10−12 . With this
performance, the frequency reference is well suited to be used in laser systems for cold atoms
experiments or optical metrology applications such as wavelength meter calibration [45]. It also
 10 10
iQube vs. Ref2
iQube vs. Ref1
Ref1 vs. Ref2
2-Photon Ref. [30]
y
Allan Deviation 10 11

10 12

10 13
10 1 100 101 102 103 104 105
Averaging Time (s)

Fig. 4. Allan deviation of the iQube module determined by beat-note measurements

with two external references (Ref1: orange, Ref2: blue). Ref1 has been developed as
an FMS-based spectroscopy system for application on sounding rockets [20]. Ref2
is based on MTS and used as a laboratory reference setup. The Allan deviation of a
state-of-the-art compact two-photon breadboard system [30] is shown for comparison.

10 9
Allan Deviation y( = 1 s)

[16] [18] [27]

[17]
10 10

[29]
10 11
Cs CPT [25] [20]
[30] [23]
Cs D2
[24]
10 12 K D2 [26] [28]
Rb D2
This Work
10 13
Rb 2-photon
I2 [21]
10 14
10 3 10 2 10 1 100 101 102 103 104 105
Volume of Optoelectronic System (cm³)

Fig. 5. Allan deviation at 1 s averaging time versus the optoelectronic system volume of
various atomic vapor based optical frequency references. Shapes and colors indicate the
utilized spectroscopy method and atomic species, respectively. All D2-transition based
references use Doppler-free spectroscopy. In case of the iodine reference, MTS of a
molecular transition is used. To ensure comparability, the volume of control electronics
was not taken into account. Allan deviations of the OFRs used in [20] and [24] have
been evaluated again in this work and in case of [29], the Allan deviation was estimated
based on a power spectral density.
represents a technology demonstrator for future compact vapor cell based optical clocks in space.
Adapting the module to a fluorescence based two-photon [46] or an absorption based 5S-6P
transition scheme [47] in rubidium could be an option for higher stability with similar SWaP.
Necessary efforts towards the realization of a mission-ready system include technical im-
provements, development of interfaces to the CubeSat platform systems and execution of the
qualification process (vibration, thermal vacuum, out-gassing, radiation). On the technical
side, hermetic sealing of the optical module is required to protect the laser diode. The size of
the electrical interface can be reduced in this step, as well. Further size reduction could also
be achieved by merging the current driver and the temperature controller into a custom laser
controller and a single space-qualified and more efficient on-board computer with an FPGA
could replace the RedPitaya by controlling both, the platform systems and the payload. A simple
mission scenario for technology demonstration would then consist of two OFR systems and a
detector connected to a frequency counter to record the optical beat note frequency.

Fig. 6. Assembled demonstrator system with complete functionality of the OFR inside
a volume of 0.6U of a Cubesat with the following components: (bottom) RedPitaya
StemLab for signal demodulation and modulation as well as PID-control of the laser
current, (right) Meerstetter TEC-1091 temperature controller, (upper left) current driver
and (upper right) iQube OFR.

Funding
Acknowledgments
This work has been done in a joint collaboration between Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and
National University of Singapore, supported by the Berlin University Alliance.

The micro-integration was realized at Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höch-

stfrequenztechnik.

A. Strangfeld, S. Kanthak, B. Wiegand and M. Krutzik additionally acknowledge support

by the German Space Agency DLR with funds provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic
Affairs and Energy (BMWi) under grant numbers 50RK1971 (ROSC), 50WM2066 (OPTIMAL-
QT) and 50RK1978 (QCHIP).
The authors greatly thank M. Christ and A. Stiekel for the preparation and provision of the optical
assembly facilities, O. Anton and B. Leykauf for providing the optical frequency references for
testing and the final measurement, K. Döringshoff for advice during the performance evaluation,
M. Schoch and C. Kaiser for technical support and R. Kumar and S. Tapiawala for fruitful
discussions.

Disclosures
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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