Research Description
Sebastian Will’s research aims to create a new platform for compact optical clocks by trapping strontium atoms one by one in large arrays of optical tweezers. These clocks could combine the extraordinary precision of today’s best optical clocks with a design that is more scalable and practical to reproduce. To do this, his team will use metasurfaces, nanofabricated optical elements that can generate much larger arrays of optical traps with fewer moving parts and less technical noise than conventional approaches. He aims to demonstrate clock operation in these arrays, scale the system to about 10,000 trapped atoms, operate two arrays in an interleaved sequence to reduce noise, and test whether quantum correlations within and between arrays can improve clock stability.
Research Impact
Professor Will’s work could help move optical clocks beyond specialized laboratory systems, making them easier to reproduce, compare, and connect. A platform of this kind could support new precision measurements, including tests of fundamental physics and future networks of synchronized or entangled clocks. More broadly, it could expand how ultra-precise timekeeping is used in science by making these systems more practical to build and deploy.
Message sent
Thank you for sharing.
related links
Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative 
Science
Stanford University, Department of Applied Physics
Back