This project develops a fast and accurate chip-scale timing unit (clock) that can improve the quantity and quality of data transmitted from small spacecraft. Based on a new generation of phonon traps/resonators that are both passively and actively compensated, the proposed approach tackles these technical challenges by developing a chip-scale all silicon integrated clock that has orders of magnitude better frequency stability, lower acceleration sensitivity, and higher speed compared to quartz-based clock.

A high speed and accurate clock vastly improves satellite data transmission rates. A clock with the proposed performance cannot be obtained from any other current or planned product with such small-size, low-weight, low-power, and low-cost, making it an ideal candidate for CubeSats. In addition to CubeSats, precision chip-scale clocks have application in many other DoD systems such as GPS-denied position, navigation, and timing (PNT) as well as in GPS itself.