Study of laser-pumped double-resonance clock signals using a microfabricated cell

We present our microwave spectroscopic studies on laser-microwave double-resonance (DR) signals obtained from a micro-fabricated Rb vapor cell.This study focuses on the characteristics and systematic shifts of the ground-state 'clock transition' in 87 Rb (|F g = 1, m F = 0 →| F g = 2, m F = 0 ) used in Rb atomic clocks, and represents a first step toward a miniature atomic clock based on the DR scheme.A short-term clock instability below 2 × 10 11 τ -1/2 is demonstrated, staying below 10 -11 up to τ = 10 4 s.