Technology

Technology

Detailed specifications and performance data will be published as the first prototypes are characterised. For technical enquiries in the meantime, please contact us directly.

---

Why the cell environment matters

An atomic receiver is only as good as the environment its atoms sit in. The same sensitivity that makes the vapour responsive to radio fields also makes it responsive to stray magnetic fields, temperature drift and mechanical disturbance. Much of the engineering is therefore in isolating the cell from everything except the signal of interest.

Stray magnetic fields shift the atomic energy levels through the Zeeman effect. The transverse shielding factor of a thin cylindrical shell scales with the relative permeability of the material and the ratio of wall thickness to shell radius:

$$S \approx \mu_r \frac{t}{r}$$

Nesting a high-permeability inner shell inside a high-saturation outer shell multiplies the two factors, provided a gap is maintained between them. A residual field below $20\,\mathrm{nT}$ is sufficient to keep Zeeman shifts well below the levels that would degrade performance.