| TOPICAL REVIEW — Advances in thorium nuclear optical clocks |
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Progresses on 148 nm light sources for precision measurement of nuclear transition of 229mTh |
| Yang Wang(王样)1,2,†, Zheng-Rong Xiao(肖峥嵘)1,2,†, Heng-Zhi Zhang(张恒之)1,2, Lin-Qiang Hua(华林强)1,2,‡, and Xiao-Jun Liu(柳晓军)1,2,§ |
1 State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China;
2 School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China |
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Abstract The thorium-229 nucleus possesses a uniquely low-energy nuclear transition (~8.4 eV, corresponding to a wavelength of ~148 nm), which is the first confirmed nuclear excitation that can be coherently manipulated by narrow-linewidth lasers. Consequently, this transition has garnered widespread interest over the past decades. Owing to the small nuclear size and strong resistance to environmental perturbations, a thorium-based nuclear clock is theoretically capable of achieving an unprecedented fractional frequency uncertainty at the 10-20 level, offering great promise as a next-generation frequency standard. Among the key ingredients of such a thorium-based nuclear clock, a high-performance 148 nm excitation source is of critical importance. Since the feasibility of directly exciting the transition, as well as the overall clock performance, depends heavily on the availability and quality of such a source, the development of high-quality 148 nm laser sources represents a frontier for scientists worldwide. In this article, we provide a systematic overview of the current development of 148 nm laser sources. First, we briefly introduce the scientific motivation for high-precision spectroscopy of the thorium nuclear transition and the corresponding technical requirements for 148 nm laser sources. Then, we summarize four main types of existing 148 nm source generation schemes and their working principles, along with recent progress in nuclear transition measurements using such sources. Finally, we discuss potential future directions.
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Received: 31 July 2025
Revised: 25 September 2025
Accepted manuscript online: 30 September 2025
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PACS:
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06.30.Ft
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(Time and frequency)
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42.65.Ky
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(Frequency conversion; harmonic generation, including higher-order harmonic generation)
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42.72.Ai
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(Infrared sources)
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| Fund: This project is supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB0920000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12121004, U21A20435), the Chinese Academy of Sciences Project for Young Scientists in Basic Research (Grant No. YSBR-055), and the Science and Technology Department of Hubei Province (Grant No. 2025AFA004). |
Cite this article:
Yang Wang(王样), Zheng-Rong Xiao(肖峥嵘), Heng-Zhi Zhang(张恒之), Lin-Qiang Hua(华林强), and Xiao-Jun Liu(柳晓军) Progresses on 148 nm light sources for precision measurement of nuclear transition of 229mTh 2026 Chin. Phys. B 35 020601
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