Patents by Inventor Robert L. Tjoelker

Robert L. Tjoelker has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9766593
    Abstract: An atomic clock including an ion trap assembly, a C-field coil positioned for generating a first magnetic field in the interrogation region of the ion trap assembly, a compensation coil positioned for generating a second magnetic field in the interrogation region, wherein the combination of the first and second magnetic fields produces an ion number-dependent second order Zeeman shift (Zeeman shift) in the resonance frequency that is opposite in sign to an ion number-dependent second order Doppler shift (Doppler shift) in the resonance frequency, the C-field coil has a radius selected using data indicating how changes in the radius affect an ion-number-dependent shift in the resonance frequency, such that a difference in magnitude between the Doppler shift and the Zeeman shift is controlled or reduced, and the resonance frequency, including the adjustment by the Zeeman shift, is used to obtain the frequency standard.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Eric A. Burt, Robert L. Hamell, Blake C. Tucker, Kameron Larsen, Robert L. Tjoelker
  • Patent number: 9372299
    Abstract: Hollow-core capillary discharge lamps on the mm or sub-mm scale are provided. The hollow-core capillary discharge lamps achieve an increased light intensity ratio between 194 mm (useful) and 254 mm (useless) light than conventional lamps. The capillary discharge lamps may include a cone to increase light output. Hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HCPCF) may also be used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2016
    Assignee: The United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Inventors: Lin Yi, Robert L. Tjoelker, Eric A. Burt, Shouhua Huang
  • Publication number: 20150249456
    Abstract: An atomic clock including an ion trap assembly, a C-field coil positioned for generating a first magnetic field in the interrogation region of the ion trap assembly, a compensation coil positioned for generating a second magnetic field in the interrogation region, wherein the combination of the first and second magnetic fields produces an ion number-dependent second order Zeeman shift (Zeeman shift) in the resonance frequency that is opposite in sign to an ion number-dependent second order Doppler shift (Doppler shift) in the resonance frequency, the C-field coil has a radius selected using data indicating how changes in the radius affect an ion-number-dependent shift in the resonance frequency, such that a difference in magnitude between the Doppler shift and the Zeeman shift is controlled or reduced, and the resonance frequency, including the adjustment by the Zeeman shift, is used to obtain the frequency standard.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 19, 2015
    Publication date: September 3, 2015
    Inventors: Eric A. Burt, Robert L. Hamell, Blake C. Tucker, Kameron Larsen, Robert L. Tjoelker
  • Patent number: 8026768
    Abstract: Local magnetic field strength in a trapped ion atomic clock is measured in real time, with high accuracy and without degrading clock performance, and the measurement is used to compensate for ambient magnetic field perturbations. First and second isotopes of an element are co-located within the linear ion trap. The first isotope has a resonant microwave transition between two hyperfine energy states, and the second isotope has a resonant Zeeman transition. Optical sources emit ultraviolet light that optically pump both isotopes. A microwave radiation source simultaneously emits microwave fields resonant with the first isotope's clock transition and the second isotope's Zeeman transition, and an optical detector measures the fluorescence from optically pumping both isotopes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2011
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Inventors: Eric A. Burt, Shervin Taghavi, Robert L. Tjoelker