SI-Traceable Temperature Calibration Based on Optical Lattice Clocks

Abstract

We present a SI-traceable temperature calibration apparatus utilizing optical lattice clocks for precision metrology. The system employs a dual-blackbody radiation shield chamber with independent temperature control, enabling synchronous differential measurements of blackbody radiation (BBR)-induced frequency shifts in atomic ensembles. By correlating these shifts with chamber temperature, we propose absolute temperature determination traceable to the SI second through the optical clock frequency. Comprehensive uncertainty analysis demonstrates an absolute temperature uncertainty below 17 mK across the $200 \sim 350$ K range based on $^{87}$Sr optical lattice clock, representing an improvement of two orders of magnitude over current temperature measurements based on BBR-induced Rydberg state transitions. This advancement in primary thermometry offers significant improvements in precision, reproducibility, and versatility, with potential applications in metrology, fundamental physics, and industrial processes.