Overview
- Researchers describe a 2.3‑cubic‑centimeter chip‑scale unit that is more than seven times smaller than leading U.S. models.
- The team reports stability of roughly one second in 30,000 years, a performance level they say matches much larger atomic clocks.
- The design replaces microwave cavities with a microfabricated vapor cell and a modulated semiconductor laser that locks the atomic transition via coherent population trapping.
- Project lead Jiehua Chen told the South China Morning Post the clocks are in mass production and already used for time‑synchronization in micro‑PNT, underwater BeiDou, low‑orbit satellites, and drone swarms.
- A company backed by Yangtze River Industry Group is scaling output, while high costs and specialized lasers remain key hurdles, and separate UK work on a portable atomic fountain clock underscores global miniaturization efforts.