Studies on Temperature Dependence of Rubidium Lamp for Atomic Frequency Standard

Rb lamp is a very critical component of the Rb atomic clock’s Physics Package. The Rb lamp’s performance is very sensitive to temperature and its stability. In this paper we discuss the behaviors of Rb Lamp with temperature. The Rb lamp exciter power and temperature of Rb bulb are very important parameters in controlling the performance of the Rb Lamp. It is observed that at temperatures beyond 110° C, the lamp mode changes from the ring to red mode resulting in abnormal broadening of emission lines and self reversal. The results of our studies on spectral analysis of Rb lamp under various operating conditions are reported in the paper.