OEwaves Inc. has been awarded a DARPA contract to develop and demonstrate an all-optical atomic clock with drastically reduced size, weight and power (SWAP) over state-of-the-art primary time and frequency standards. OEwaves will develop the clock with support from the Aerospace Corp. The OEwaves clock will be based on the novel technology of Kerr optical frequency combs generated in a WGM crystalline micro-resonator, recently demonstrated at OEwaves, and will represent a compelling approach to fully meet the stringent performance goals of all three phases of the program. The complete program has a potential total value of approximately $8 M.

OEwaves’ unique microwave photonic technology simplifies the architecture of conventional microwave techniques by addressing the critical need to substantially reduce size and power requirements. This is accomplished through the use of patented technology of ultra-high quality factor crystalline whispering gallery mode optical resonators.

“IMPAC is a ‘DARPA hard’ program for miniaturization of a high performance atomic clock. We are excited to have the opportunity to apply the unique capabilities of our microwave photonics technologies to such challenging requirements,” said Lute Maleki, President and CEO of OEwaves. The small SWAP and cost-effective AO-IMPAC will satisfy stringent DoD requirements as well as commercial application needs. AO-IMPAC will support a variety of metrological, communications and navigation applications.