Precision time technology from Nikhef, among others, plays a vital role in the new scientific time and frequency network of the collaborating Dutch universities, which was inaugurated last week.
The university ICT organisation SURF supplies an extremely high-precision time signal to eleven locations in the Netherlands, enabling more accurate and faster research. The number of connected locations is expected to grow further.
The eleven locations are directly connected to the atomic clocks of VSL in Delft, the organisation that coordinates Universal Time (UTC) for the Netherlands, using White Rabbit technology. One of the connections is located at Nikhef at Amsterdam Science Park.
White Rabbit is a timing technology that was originally developed in particle physics. In the Netherlands, Nikhef is a member of the White Rabbit Collaboration and is closely involved in the development and maintenance of the technology and the associated technical standards.
The time signal at the eleven locations has an accuracy of one nanosecond and a frequency precision of picoseconds (millionths of a millionth of a second). With these accuracies, certain experiments can be made more accurate and also lead to faster results.
Applications range from (astro)particle physics, radio astronomy and space travel to quantum communication, precise positioning for self-driving vehicles, gravity measurements, the electricity grid and payment transactions. CERN and ESA, among others, have joined the project.
SURF’s Time&Frequency service was preceded by years of preparation. Step by step, important hurdles were overcome, such as transporting time signals over long distances, merging time signals with normal data traffic, and validating accuracy. Nikhef’s expertise in the field of White Rabbit played a role in this at several points.
Nikhef is currently also discussing with VSL the possibility of eventually housing its own atomic clock in the Nikhef Housing data centre in Amsterdam.
