Laser-pumped rubidium frequency standards: new analysis and progress

A local oscillator for laser-pumped gas-cell rubidium frequency standards was described. The effects caused by noise in the microwave and laser sources were reduced to achieve a frequency stability of one order of magnitude better than other lamp-pumped devices. The short-term frequency stability was affected by the phase modulation noise in the microwave synthesizer, the photocurrent noise on the detector and the combined effect on laser frequency noise with light shift.