First results with a cold cesium continuous fountain resonator

Abstract

We report on the design, construction, and preliminary measurements on the resonator of a continuous Cs fountain frequency standard. The construction of the resonator is described, preliminary measurements of the available atomic flux, and of the beam temperature are presented, along with the first Ramsey fringes (width /spl sime/1 Hz) obtained in this new type of fountain. We discuss theoretical aspects of the interrogation scheme with a special view on how aliasing or intermodulation effects are suppressed in a continuous fountain.