TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

J. Mauricio Lopez R.a, Michael A. Lombardib, Andrew N. Novickb, Jean-Simon Boulangerc,

Raymond Pelletierc, Carlos Donado M.d, and Ricardo Carvalho e
a

Centro Nacional de Metrologa (CENAM), Quertaro, Mexico, mauricio.lopez@cenam.mx

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado, United States, lombardi@nist.gov
c
National Research Council (NRC), Ottawa, Canada, jean-simon.boulanger@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
d
Centro Nacional de Metrologa de Panam (CENAMEP), Panama City, Panama
e
Observatorio Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Outline
Outline
1.1.Motivations
Motivations
2.2.The
TheGPS
GPSsystem
system
3.3.SIM
SIMtime
timeand
andfrequency
frequencynetwork
network
4.4.SIM
SIMand
andBIPM
BIPMcomparisons
comparisons
5.5.Conclusions
Conclusionsand
andnear
nearfuture
futurework
work

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Country

BIPM/
CGPM
Member?

Maintains
Time and
Freq. Lab?

Submits
to BIPM?

Argentina

Member

Yes

Yes

Brazil

Member

Yes

Yes

Canada

Member

Yes

Yes

Chile

Member

Yes

Yes

Colombia

No

Yes

No

Costa Rica

Associate

Yes

No

Dominican Rep.

Member

Unknown

No

Ecuador

Associate

Yes

No

El Salvador

No

Interested

No

Guatemala

No

Yes

No

Jamaica

Associate

Yes

No

Mexico

Member

Yes

Yes

Panama

Associate

Yes

Yes

Paraguay

No

Interested

No

Peru

No

Interested

No

Trinidad / Tobago

No

Interested

No

United States

Member

Yes

Yes

Uruguay

Member

Interested

No

Venezuela

Member

Yes

No

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

-GPS stands for Global Positioning System

-Space-based radio positioning system
-Provides users with highly accurate position, velocity, and time data

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

24 satelites with atomic

clocks on board
semi-synchronous orbit
height of 4.2 earth radii
(~20,200 km)
6 orbital planes, 55
degrees inclination to
equatorial plane

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Operates on two L-band

frequencies 1.57542 GHz
and 1.2276 GHz

At least four satellites

always in view

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

GPS satellite with an

atomic clock on board

Slave oscillator on earth

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Velocity of propagation is not

constant along the path

Ionosp
here

Tropo

spher
e

GPS Receiver

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

15 hours

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

300
200

nanoseconds

100
0
-100
-200
-300
-400
-500
-600
7954.007

7963.504
7979.935
7989.824
7998.822
Modified Julian Day - 40000 (Thousands)

March 25th,1990

8009.182

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Oscillator in common view

Propagation media

Oscillator 1

Oscillator 2

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Variation on the velocity of

propagation introduces a
uncertainty which is usually a few
nanoseconds

Ionosp
here

Tropo

L >> 10 km
L < 10 km

spher
e

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Tcnica de COMMON-VIEW
Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Clock B

Clock A

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Tcnica de COMMON-VIEW
Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

GPS-B receiver

GPS-A receiver

Common agenda to view GPS satellites

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Tcnica de COMMON-VIEW
Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

tB= tB tGPS B
tA= tA tGPS A

tBA = tB - tA =(tB-tGPS + B) (tA tGPS + A) = tB - tA (B + A)

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

NRC
NRC
NIST
NIST
CENAM
CENAM
ICE
ICE
CENAMEP
CENAMEP
SIC
SIC

ONRJ
ONRJ

INTI
INTI

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

SIM GPS system

- Multichannel (8) GPS receiver

- SIM receiver sends data
automatically to the SIM server
every 10 minutes
- includes SIMs own
(developed by NIST)

software

- Includes a PC. It is able to show

common view results in near real
time
among
participating
laboratories

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

SIM GPS antenna

Novatel antenna
Rejects multiple reflections of the
GPS signal

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

SIM Network server

tf.nist.gov/sim/

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

SIM Time and Frequency comparison network: a democratic system

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Comparison between NIST and CENAM

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Comparison between NIST and CENAM

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Comparison between NRC and ONRJ

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Comparison between NRC and ONRJ

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

-4450
SIM Network
Circular-T

-4450
SIM Network
Circular-T

-4500

-4500
-4550

-4550

-4700

Nanoseconds

-4650

-4750

400 ns

-4600

350 ns

Nanoseconds

-4600

-4650
-4700
-4750
-4800

-4800

-4850

60 days

-4850

-4900
53790

53800

53810

53820

53830

60 days

-4900

53840

53850

-4950
53790

53860

Modified Julian Dates

53800

53810

53820

53830

53840

53850

53860

Modified Julian Dates

UTC(NIST) UTC(CNMP).

UTC(CNM) UTC(CNMP).
-4500

SIM Network
Circular-T

40

-4550

SIM Network
Circular-T

-4600

30

Nanoseconds

50 ns

Nanoseconds

10

350 ns

-4650
20

-4700

-4750

-4800

-4850

-10

60 days

-4900

60 days

-20

-4950
53790
-30
53790

53800

53810

53820

53830

53840

53850

53860

Modified Julian Dates

UTC(NIST) UTC(CNM).
40
SIM Network
Circular-T

53810

53820

53830

53840

53850

53860

Modified Julian Dates

SIM
SIM
BIPM
BIPM

UTC(NRC) UTC(CNMP).
60
SIM Network
Circular-T

50

30

30

60 ns

50 ns

10

Nanoseconds

40

20

Nanoseconds

53800

20
10
0

-10

60 days

-10

60 days

-20

-20
53790
-30
53790

53800

53810

53820

53830

Modified Julian Dates

UTC(CNM) UTC(NRC).

53840

53850

53860

53800

53810

53820

53830

Modified Julian Dates

UTC(NIST) UTC(NRC).

53840

53850

53860

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Summary of uncertainties (in nanoseconds) for

all six comparisons (March-April 2006)

CNM CNMP

NIST CNM

CNM NRC

NIST CNMP

NRC CNMP

NIST NRC

2544.0

2198.9

3520.7

4194.9

3989.0

2471.3

Mean Freq. Offset

6.7 10-14

2.8 10-15

4.8 10-15

7.0 10-14

6.3 10-14

7.7 10-15

Mean Time Offset

4690.4

+10.3

+11.0

4680.7

4702.8

+21.2

1.8

1.2

1.4

1.5

1.5

UB, Calibration

UB, Coordinates

UB, Environment

UB, Multipath

UB, Ionosphere

1.5

2.5

1.5

UB, Ref. delay

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

UB, Resolution

0.05

0.05

0.05

0.05

0.05

0.05

UC, k = 2

13.5

13.1

13.5

14.0

14.0

12.9

Baseline (km)

UA, x()

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Conclusions
1. The SIM time and frequency network began operation in June 2005.
Currently 7 NMIs are in participation.
2. The network is expected to enhance time and frequency Metrology capabilities
on the SIM region by providing NMIs with a convenient way to compare their
standards and to establish traceability to the SI.
3. Due to the SIM T&F Network some labs are in the process of acquiring Cs
clocks.
4. The SIM network produces results that agree closely with results published in
the BIPMs Circular-T, but have the distinct advantage of being available in near
real time.
5. New labs will be joining the network during the next weeks or months
(Argentina, Guatemala and )

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Conclusions
1. The SIM time and frequency network began operation in June 2005. Currently
7 NMIs are in participation.

2. The network is expected to enhance time and frequency Metrology

capabilities on the SIM region by providing NMIs with a convenient way
to compare their standards and to establish traceability to the SI.
3. Due to the SIM T&F Network some labs are in the process of acquiring Cs
clocks.
4. The SIM network produces results that agree closely with results published in
the BIPMs Circular-T, but have the distinct advantage of being available in near
real time.
5. New labs will be joining the network during the next weeks or months
(Argentina, Guatemala and )

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Conclusions
1. The SIM time and frequency network began operation in June 2005. Currently
7 NMIs are in participation.
2. The network is expected to enhance time and frequency Metrology capabilities
on the SIM region by providing NMIs with a convenient way to compare their
standards and to establish traceability to the SI.

3. Due to the SIM T&F Network some labs are in the process of
acquiring Cs clocks.
4. The SIM network produces results that agree closely with results published in
the BIPMs Circular-T, but have the distinct advantage of being available in near
real time.
5. New labs will be joining the network during the next weeks or months
(Argentina, Guatemala and )

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Conclusions
1. The SIM time and frequency network began operation in June 2005. Currently
7 NMIs are in participation.
2. The network is expected to enhance time and frequency Metrology capabilities
on the SIM region by providing NMIs with a convenient way to compare their
standards and to establish traceability to the SI.
3. Due to the SIM T&F Network some labs are in the process of acquiring Cs
clocks.

4. The SIM network produces results that agree closely with results
published in the BIPMs Circular-T, but have the distinct advantage of
being available in near real time.
5. New labs will be joining the network during the next weeks or months
(Argentina, Guatemala and )

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Conclusions
1. The SIM time and frequency network began operation in June 2005. Currently
7 NMIs are in participation.
2. The network is expected to enhance time and frequency Metrology capabilities
on the SIM region by providing NMIs with a convenient way to compare their
standards and to establish traceability to the SI.
3. Due to the SIM T&F Network some labs are in the process of acquiring Cs
clocks.
4. The SIM network produces results that agree closely with results published in
the BIPMs Circular-T, but have the distinct advantage of being available in near
real time.

5. New labs will be joining the network during the next weeks or months
(Argentina, Guatemala and )

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Conclusions
6. Measurement results produced by the SIM T&F network will be used
in the near future to generate a virtual time scale called SIM-time. SIMtime will be a time scale with very high metrological characteristics
(accuracy and stability) accessible in real time. CENAM is developing an
algorithm to generate the SIM-time scale starting on the second part of
2008.
7. Improvement of time and frequency capabilities can be observed at SIM as
result of the SIM T&F network. However, it is necessary to continue supporting
Time and Frequency activities in the SIM region not only providing more SIM
type GPS receivers but also with training courses to those countries interested on
improving their T&F laboratories or establishing their own one.
8. Enhanced time and frequency capabilities on SIM laboratories along with the
SIM-time scale will help to pave the way to improve Metrology and provide a
better support to industry in the Americas.

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Conclusions
6. Measurement results produced by the SIM T&F network will be used in the
near future to generate a virtual time scale called SIM-time. SIM-time will be a
time scale with very high metrological characteristics (accuracy and stability)
accessible in real time. CENAM is developing an algorithm to generate the SIMtime scale starting on the second part of 2008.

7. Improvement of time and frequency capabilities can be observed at

SIM as result of the SIM T&F network. However, it is necessary to
continue supporting Time and Frequency activities in the SIM region not
only providing more SIM type GPS receivers but also with training
courses to those countries interested on improving their T&F
laboratories or establishing their own one.
8. Enhanced time and frequency capabilities on SIM laboratories along with the
SIM-time scale will help to pave the way to improve Metrology and provide a
better support to industry in the Americas.

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

Conclusions
6. Measurement results produced by the SIM T&F network will be used in the
near future to generate a virtual time scale called SIM-time. SIM-time will be a
time scale with very high metrological characteristics (accuracy and stability)
accessible in real time. CENAM is developing an algorithm to generate the SIMtime scale starting on the second part of 2008.
7. Improvement of time and frequency capabilities can be observed at SIM as
result of the SIM T&F network. However, it is necessary to continue supporting
Time and Frequency activities in the SIM region not only providing more SIM
type GPS receivers but also with training courses to those countries interested on
improving their T&F laboratories or establishing their own one.

8. Enhanced time and frequency capabilities on SIM laboratories along

with the SIM-time scale will help to pave the way to improve Metrology
and provide a better support to industry in the Americas.

TIME AND FREQUENCY METROLOGY WORKING GROUP

Working to support time and frequency metrology throughout the Americas

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J. Mauricio Lopez R.a, Michael A. Lombardib, Andrew N. Novickb, Jean-Simon Boulangerc,
Raymond Pelletierc, Carlos Donado M.d, and Ricardo Carvalho e
a

Centro Nacional de Metrologa (CENAM), Quertaro, Mexico, mauricio.lopez@cenam.mx

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado, United States, lombardi@nist.gov
c
National Research Council (NRC), Ottawa, Canada, jean-simon.boulanger@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
d
Centro Nacional de Metrologa de Panam (CENAMEP), Panama City, Panama
e
Observatorio Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil