Test & Measurement


Caesium atomic clock provides autonomous precise time

28 June 2023 Test & Measurement

From everyday applications such as mobile phones and banking to complex defence missions, the need for synchronised precise timing and frequency solutions is critical to safeguard and process data as intended. Many of these applications rely on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to provide that precise time and frequency, but GNSS is susceptible to jamming and spoofing attacks. To provide multiple industries – including telecommunications, data centres, metrology, aviation and defence – with a long-term and precise timing and frequency solution, Microchip Technology has announced the 5071B caesium atomic clock that can perform autonomous timekeeping for months, in the event of GNSS denials.

Microchip’s 5071B is the next-generation commercial caesium clock to the existing 5071A, which has been the primary contributor to international time for more than three decades. The 5071B is available in a three-unit height (3U) 19-inch rackmount enclosure, providing a compact product to work in environments where it can be easily transported and secured versus a larger alternative designed specifically for laboratory environments.

The 5071B has upgraded electronic components to address possible obsolescence or non-RoHS circuitry. The product provides 100 ns holdover for more than two months, maintaining system synchronisation when GNSS signals like GPS are denied. For example, this capability would enable a 5G network to remain fully operational for months without GNSS.

As a caesium beam tube product with no deterministic long-term frequency drift, the 5071B provides absolute frequency accuracy of 5E-13 or 500 quadrillionths over all specified environmental conditions for the life of the product.

For military applications requiring rapid deployments for system radars, 5E-13 stability eliminates the need for the acquisition of external synchronisation sources prior to radiating. In satellite communications, this enables the user to broadcast and transmit over very small frequency bands without drifting out of band for the entire duration of the product.


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