From 2012 to 2014, I worked on optical atomic clocks in the group of Professor Jun Ye. Here I worked on two distinct projects. The first was an improved optical atomic clock, with a published accuracy at the 1E-18 level. This remarkable accuracy makes this clock 100 times more accurate than the SI second, sensitive to mm sized fluctuations in height, and a sensitive probe for new physics. My work on this project centered on improving the up time of the clock by improving the lasers, improved accuracy by characterizing the effect of thermal radiation on the trapped atoms, and attempts to improve stability through optimal feedback design. Code used for this project is available on my Github page, and may be useful for anyone interested in atomic clock stability, or in the effect of noise in the manipulation of qubits.

The second project in this group I worked on was the new generation of atomic clock experiments, where we moved from ultracold samples, to quantum degenerate samples. This new system will be able to resolve individual lattice sites, with a combination of the ultra-narrow clock transition, and large magnetic field gradients, controlled electronically by a system of my design. This system is capable of ppm current stability at 400 amps, with H-bridge and on/off switching times on the order of 1 mS. Designs for this system are available for download here, and please contact me if you want to discuss them further.