Light-shift mitigation in a microcell-based atomic clock with symmetric auto-balanced Ramsey spectroscopy

The mid-term fractional frequency stability of miniaturized atomic clocks can be limited by light-shift effects. In this Letter, we demonstrate the implementation of a symmetric auto-balanced Ramsey (SABR) interrogation sequence in a microcell-based atomic clock based on coherent population trapping. Using this advanced protocol, the sensitivity of the clock frequency to laser power, microwave power, and laser frequency variations is reduced, at least by one order of magnitude, in comparison with continuous-wave or Ramsey interrogation schemes. Light-shift mitigation obtained with the SABR sequence benefits greatly to the clock Allan deviation for integration times between 102 and 105 s. These results demonstrate that such interrogation techniques are of interest to enhance the timekeeping performance of chip-scale atomic clocks.