Frequency Standards – Basics and Applications

The increased use of quartz- and radio-controlled clocks and satellite-based navigation systems as well as the implementation of high-speed data networks would not have been possible without the development of the corresponding oscillators, frequency standards, and synchronization techniques.

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Of all measurement units, frequency is the one that may be determined with the highest degree of accuracy. It equally allows precise measurements of other physical and technical quantities, whenever they can be measured in terms of frequency. This volume covers the central methods and techniques relevant for frequency standards developed in physics, electronics, quantum electronics, and statistics. After a review of the basic principles, the book looks at the realisation of commonly used components. It then continues with the description and characterisation of important frequency standards from atomic clocks, to frequency stabilised lasers. The whole is rounded of with a discussion of topical applications in engineering, telecommunications, and metrology.