Superconducting resonators: High stability oscillators and applications to fundamental physics and metrology

Abstract

Superconducting oscillators have achieved better frequency stability than any other device for averaging times of 10 1.c.s. to 1000 1.c.s. This high stability results from the use of solid niobium resonators having Q factors greater than 1010. Such oscillators have direct applications as clocks and spectrally pure sources. They may also be used for accurate measurements of many physical quantities and to perform a variety of experiments on fundamental constants, relativity, and gravity waves.