Study on an all-optical microwave frequency standard

We describe a simple method to produce a clock transition with purely optical means through modulated pumping. We observe the field-independent ground state resonance of 87Rb atoms using sinusoidal modulation of the injection current of an AlGaAs laser diode emitting at 780 nm (FM modulation). We detect the 6.835 GHz resonance with a modulation frequency of 1.139 GHz. A high contrast resonance peak is observed and a condition for zero light shift is found. With a beam radius of approximately 3 mm and a buffer gas (N2) pressure of 680 Pa (5.1 Torr), a minimal linewidth of 290 Hz is observed. A theoretical study of the excitation of hyperfine coherences by a modulated laser beam is given.