Atomic Hydrogen Maser Development at the National Research Council of Canada

Abstract

Design and performance of two atomic hydrogen masers constructed at the National Research Council, Ottawa, Canada, are discussed. Measurements are given of the relative stability of the two masers for periods from 10 sec to 3 weeks, and the maser frequencies related to that of the NRC long cesium beam frequency standard over a 41 day period. The latter measurements are related to other cesium frequency standards in the United States and Canada. The best stability for a single maser was found to be about 1 × 10^-14 for averaging periods of 1 h over a 24 h period.