Miniature Iodine-Stabilized Oscillator (MISO)

Vector Atomic will prototype and design a Miniature Iodine-Stabilized Oscillator (MISO). MISO’s simplified optical clock architecture supports aggressive miniaturization, low-cost manufacturing, and high reliability. The primary focus of Phase I is to prototype the MISO optical reference and feed the results into the system design. At the conclusion of Phase I, a detailed CAD model will be completed including mechanical drawings and a bill of materials (BOM).

Space missions are critically dependent on precise timing and synchronization. Coherent ranging and imaging systems such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Mission (NISAR) are enabled by highly coherent laser and RF oscillators, respectively. Future NASA mission including deep space navigation, space-based gravitational wave detectors, and multi-static radar imaging will require timing precision beyond the capabilities of current hardware

LIDAR and RADAR applications can benefit from the long coherence time of the optical local oscillator and the ultralow phase noise provided by the frequency comb. In GPS-denied environments, a highly stable clock can extend missions by maintaining synchronization between distributed systems.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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