We present nonstandard optical Ramsey schemes that use pulses individually tailored in duration, phase, and frequency to cancel spurious frequency shifts related to the excitation itself. In particular, the field shifts and their uncertainties can be radically suppressed (by two to four orders of magnitude) in comparison with the usual Ramsey method (using two equal pulses) as well as with single-pulse Rabi spectroscopy. Atom interferometers and optical clocks based on two-photon transitions, heavily forbidden transitions, or magnetically induced spectroscopy could significantly benefit from this method. In the latter case, these frequency shifts can be suppressed considerably below a fractional level of $10$${}^{-17}$. Moreover, our approach opens the door for high-precision optical clocks based on direct frequency comb spectroscopy.

• Received 6 November 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.82.011804