Method for Manufacturing Alkali Metal Vapor Cells
- Detailed Technology Description
- This invention describes a method for manufacturing alkali-metal vapor cells in a two-step process.
- Others
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- Issued US patent 7,666,485
- Radhakrishnan, Shankar et al (2005) Alkali metal-wax micropackets for chip-scale atomic clocks Transducers '05, The 13th International Conference on Solid-state Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, Seoul, Korea, June 5-9, 2005.
- *Abstract
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This invention describes a method for manufacturing alkali-metal vapor cells in a two-step process. The first step involves forming microscale wax micropackets which comprise an alkali metal (e.g. Rubidium (Rb) or Cesium (Cs)) encapsulated in n-paraffin or paraffin wax. The second step involves using laser energy to transform the metal within the micropacket into a vapor cell in a silicon substrate.
Encapsulating alkali metal in paraffin stabilizes the metal and makes it easy to handle, package, and transport. Encapsulation also reduces the risk of contamination ensuring 'pure' alkali metal vapor cells. This method enables low cost manufacturing because the process can be easily accomplished using well known batch processing techniques.
Potential Applications
- Stable frequency sources, e.g. chip-scale atomic clocks (CSACs)
- Global positioning systems (GPS)
- Digital communications
- Security and identification application
Advantages
- Enables batch manufacturing
- Lowers manufacturing cost
- Reduces possibility of contamination
- Stabilizes alkali metals making them easy to handle, package and transport
- *Licensing
- Patrick Govangpjg26@cornell.edu(607) 254-2330
- Country/Region
- USA
