June 26, 2024 — Infleqtion is delighted to announce the first UK commercial delivery of its groundbreaking optical atomic clock, Tiqker™, to the University of Strathclyde. This marks a historic milestone as the first sale and commercial delivery of any optical atomic clock within the UK.

The Tiqker unit, delivered to the laboratory of Professor Erling Riis, signifies a promising collaboration between Infleqtion and Professor Riis’s research group. Renowned for its stability and robustness, as demonstrated by recent flight trials, Tiqker is set to revolutionize navigation and precision timekeeping, establishing a new standard in Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) technology. Tiqker offers hydrogen maser-like short-term performance in a compact size, weight, and power package, with a Cs-Beam-like holdover of up to seven days.

Timothy Ballance, President at Infleqtion UK, expressed his enthusiasm: “We are very pleased to be able to deliver our first commercial clock in the UK to Professor Riis and his group at the University of Strathclyde. Tiqker will be rigorously tested by the world-leading experts at the University of Strathclyde, and their feedback will be invaluable as early customer insights.”

“The Infleqtion Tiqker represents a step-change for us in our work developing and characterising miniaturised clocks based on both hot and laser cooled atoms. We have often been limited by the phase noise of the oscillator driving the atomic transitions. The Tiqker is now by far the lowest phase noise oscillator we have for referencing purposes and will shortly be fully integrated in our programmes, complementing the facilities in the National Physical Laboratory’s (NPL) National Timing innovation node, recently launched at the University of Strathclyde,” said Professor Erling Riis, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde.

Leon Lobo, Head of the NPL-led National Timing Centre (NTC) Programme, added: “The global supply chain for time, frequency and synchronisation components is sparse, and urgently needs addressing. The Tiqker clock will help bring diversity to this supply chain, potentially supporting resilience for our digital infrastructure, underpinned by time. We are excited by this engagement with Infleqtion and the University of Strathclyde, leveraging the Time and Frequency Innovation Node we have put in place to support the development of the next generation of products and services.”

The National Timing Centre (NTC) and NPL Quantum programmes have embarked on developing the UK’s first nationally distributed timing infrastructure and new measurement capabilities to support the development of new quantum technologies. These initiatives allow the UK to reduce reliance on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and improve the resilience of Critical National Infrastructure while also driving research and development into future timekeeping technologies such as Tiqker. Enhanced time and frequency signals will spur innovation in technologies such as smart grids, time-critical 5G and 6G applications, factories of the future, smart cities, and connected autonomous vehicles.