At this year’s LASER World of PHOTONICS, TOPTICA has introduced to the market the first commercially available optical quantum clock based on a single laser-cooled, trapped Yb⁺ ion.
The TOPTICLOCK system was now delivered to a first customer in September 2025 and set into operation within a few days. With its relative stability and accuracy on the order of 10-17, TOPTICLOCK sets a new benchmark for commercial atomic clocks and frequency standards with applications in time scales and time services, network synchronisation, and as a ground reference for satellite navigation. Such performance in an industrial form factor marks an important milestone towards redefinition of the SI-second based on optical transitions.
Microwave-based caesium atomic clocks have long been the gold standard for timekeeping and are an implementation of the current definition of the second as the base unit of time. Optical quantum clocks with their much higher oscillation frequency now rewrite the rules, offering orders of magnitude improvements in stability and accuracy. TOPTICLOCK features transport stability and ease-of-use while demonstrating superior performance unprecedented for any commercially available clock.
This is proven by the installation and operation of TOPTICLOCK at PTB, the German National Metrology Institute, for qualification and its subsequent transfer to a customer site in Vienna/Austria. The clock system consists of two 19-inch industrial racks and can be operated as well as monitored remotely. It bridges the gap between advanced metrology and deployable quantum infrastructure.
www.toptica.com/products/laser-rack-systems/optical-quantum-clocks