The European Frequency and Time Forum is an international conference and exhibition, providing information on recent advances and trends of scientific research and industrial development in the fields of Frequency and Time.

For the third time in its history the conference will be hosted by the European Space Agency (ESA) in ESTEC, the largest ESA establishment which is a hub and test center for European space activities.

We are pleased to announce that the abstract submission is now open. We hereby invite you to submit abstracts on the following topics, grouped in the following areas:

• Materials, Resonators, and Resonator Circuits
• Oscillators, Synthesizers, Noise, and Circuit Techniques
• Microwave Frequency Standards
• Sensors and Transducers
• Timekeeping, T&F Transfer, Telecom and GNSS applications
• Optical Frequency Standards and Applications

You are kindly invited to submit abstracts via the online submission system, please click here.

Abstracts shall be submitted by 19th November 2019 (23:59 CET). Notification of whether your abstract  is accepted in the programme will be given by 10th January 2020.
The proceedings will be distributed after the conference in digital format and IEEE.

Please find further details on the conference website that will be kept up to date during the conference preparation.

Isadora PERRIN will defend her thesis on 23th of September 2019 at 2:00 pm on the subject “Développement expérimental d’un capteur inertiel multi-axe à atomes froids hybride embarquable”, realized at ONERA under the supervision of François Nez (LKB) and the supervision of Yannick Bidel (ONERA).

The defense will take place in the Auditorium of Institut d’Optique Graduate School (2 avenue Augustin Fresnel, Palaiseau).

Léo MOREL will defend his thesis on 23th of September 2019 at 2:00 pm on the subject “High sensitivity matter-wave interferometry: towards a determination of the fine structure constant at the level of 10E-10”, realized at LKB, under the direction of Saïda Guellati-Khelifa and Pierre Cladé.

The defense will take place in the IMPMC conference room (corridor 22/23, 4th floor, room 401), Jussieu campus of Sorbonne Université.

The defense will be in English.

Abstract: 

The fine structure constant can be determined from the measurement of the ratio h/m between the Planck constant, h, and the mass of an atom, m. The comparison of the experimental value of the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron or the muon with their theoretical values predicted by the Standard Model using this value of the fine structure constant allows a very precise test of this model.
My thesis work focused principally on the measurement of the h/m ratio of rubidium-87 using a new experimental device. We installed the laser device for atom interferometry, to interrogate a cloud of cold atoms produced by optical molasses. Combining an interferometer using Raman transitions and the Bloch oscillation technique, we demonstrated an unprecedented sensitivity on the measurement of h/m corresponding to a relative statistical uncertainty of 8.5 x 10 -11 in 48 hours of integration, or 4.3 x 10 -11 on the fine structure constant.
This sensitivity has allowed us to experimentally study a variety of systematic effects. We simultaneously carried out modelling work that contributed to the implementation of protocols to compensate for the biases induced by systematic effects. We present a preliminary assessment of the error budget associated with these effects.

Three IEEE awards are presented annually at the IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium: the Cady Award, the Rabi Award, and the Sawyer Award.

Scope of Awards:

The W. G. Cady Award

The W. G. Cady Award is to recognize outstanding contributions related to the fields of piezoelectric or other classical frequency control, selection and measurement; and resonant sensor devices.

The I. I. Rabi Award

The I. I. Rabi Award is to recognize outstanding contributions related to the fields of atomic and molecular frequency standards, and time transfer and dissemination.

The C. B. Sawyer Memorial Award

The C. B. Sawyer Memorial Award is to recognize entrepreneurship or leadership in the frequency control community; or outstanding contributions in the development, production or characterization of resonator materials or structures.

=> Details about Award Descriptions and Nomination Procedures.

=> Questions regarding IEEE UFFC-S awards and proposals should be addressed to the IEEE IFCS Awards Chair, Awards Chair, James Camparo.

IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (19-23 July 2020 – Keystone, Co, USA)

Mengzi HUANG will defend his thesis on 17th of September 2019 at 2:00 pm on the subject “Spin squeezing and spin dynamics in a trapped-atom clock”, realized at SYRTE and LKB under the supervision of Carlos Garrido Alzar and Jakob Reichel.

The defense will take place in the amphitheater of the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris (IAP).

The defense will be in English, in front of a jury composed of Monika Schleier-Smith, Morgan Mitchell, Ludovic Pricoupenko and Rodolphe Boudot.

Abstract: 

Atomic sensors are among the best devices for precision measurements of time, electric and magnetic fields, and inertial forces.
However, all atomic sensors that utilise uncorrelated particles are ultimately limited by quantum projection noise (QPN), as is already the case for state-of-the-art atomic clocks. This so-called standard quantum limit (SQL) can be overcome by employing entanglement, a prime example being the spin-squeezed states. Spin squeezing can be produced in a quantum non-demolition (QND) measurement of the collective spin, particularly with cavity quantum electrodynamical (QED) interactions.

In this thesis, I present the second-generation trapped-atom clock on a chip (TACC) experiment, where we combine a metrology-grade compact clock with a miniature cavity-QED platform to test quantum metrology protocols at a metrologically-relevant precision level. In a standard Ramsey spectroscopy, the stability of the apparatus is confirmed by a fractional frequency Allan deviation of 6E-13 at 1 s. We demonstrate spin squeezing by cavity QND measurement, reaching 8 (1) dB for 1.7E4 atoms, currently limited by decoherence due to technical noise. Applying these spin-squeezed states in the clock measurement is within reach.

Cold collisions between atoms play an important role at this level of precision, leading to rich spin dynamics. Here we find that the interplay between cavity measurements and collisional spin dynamics manifests itself in a quantum amplification effect of the cavity measurement. A simple model is proposed, and is confirmed by initial measurements. New experiments in this direction may shed light on the surprising many-body physics in this sytem of interacting cold atoms.