Microcomb Chips Could Improve Accuracy of GPS Systems

Today, our mobile phones, computers, and GPS systems can give us very accurate time indications and positioning thanks to the over 400 atomic clocks worldwide. All sorts of clocks - be it mechanical, atomic or a smartwatch - are made of two parts: an oscillator and a counter. The oscillator provides a periodic variation of some known frequency over time while the counter counts the number of cycles of the oscillator. Atomic clocks count the oscillations of vibrating atoms that switch between two energy states with very precise frequency.