光学相位锁定激光在原子玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚中实现拉曼耦合

采用光学相位锁定环路技术将外腔反馈式半导体激光器锁定到与钛宝石激光器输出激光频率上. 锁定后两束激光的差频线宽从MHz降低到Hz量级, 同时两束激光的频率差可实现几百兆赫兹到7 GHz的精密调节. 锁定的两束激光作用在铷原子玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚的两个基态超精细态F=2, 1, 观测到在两个超精细态之间的拉曼跃迁. 该技术可用于超冷原子两个超精细态之间自旋轨道耦合.     

Low-noise, tunable diode laser for ultra-high-resolution spectroscopy

We demonstrate the excellent spectral properties of a diode laser setup that combines good tunability with superb short-term frequency stability and controllability. It is based on merging two concepts, the diode laser with resonant optical feedback and the grating stabilized diode laser. To characterize the short-term performance we beat two essentially identical diode lasers and find a short-term linewidth of ~11 kHz. Phase locking between these lasers is achieved with a servo bandwidth as small as 46 kHz, although an analog phase detector is used that requires subradian residual phase error. Despite small phase error detection range and small servo bandwidth, cycle-slip-free phase locking is accomplished for typically many 10 min, and the optical power is essentially contained in a spectral window of less than 20 mHz relative to the optical reference. Due to the excellent performance this laser concept is well suited for atomic or molecular coherence experiments, which require phase locking of different lasers to each other, and as part of a flywheel for optical clocks.     

Laser frequency locking based on Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency

We present a laser frequency locking to Rydberg transition with electromagnetically induced transparency(EIT)spectra in a room-temperature cesium vapor cell. Cesium levels 6S_(1/2), 6P_(3/2), and the n D_(5/2) state, compose a cascade three-level system, where a coupling laser drives Rydberg transition, and probe laser detects the EIT signal. The error signal, obtained by demodulating the EIT signal, is used to lock the coupling laser frequency to Rydberg transition. The laser frequency fluctuation, ~0.7 MHz, is obtained after locking on, with the minimum Allan variance to be 8.9 × 10~(-11).This kind of locking method can be used to stabilize the laser frequency to the excited transition.     

Cavity-enhanced optical frequency doubler based on transmission-mode Hänsch–Couillaud locking

A variant of the Hänsch–Couillaud technique for locking the pump laser frequency to a cavity-enhanced optical frequency doubler is presented. In contrast to the original scheme in which the pump laser light reflected by the enhancement cavity is monitored, the error signal for locking is obtained by polarization analysis of the light transmitted by the cavity. The cavity serves as a spectral and spatial filter for the pump beam, making the transmission-mode locking method particularly useful if the beam quality is poor. Experimental validation of the method is demonstrated by generating more than 190 mW of stable 461 nm light from a cavity-enhanced frequency doubler that is pumped by a diode laser system.     

机械抖动激光陀螺的高分辨率信号处理

 机械抖动激光陀螺（MDRLG）信号是两路相位差为π/2的正弦拍频信号,一般采用4倍频鉴相输出计数脉冲,利用FIR滤波和抖动剥除等方法解调抖动信号,从而得到外界输入的角速度信息。高速采集MDRLG信号,并细分为相位依次相差π/16的16路信号,实现MDRLG的8倍频、16倍频和32倍频鉴相输出。输出角速率的均方差随着倍频数的提高而减小,信号处理的分辨率得到提高。实验测试和Allan方差分析表明：32倍频时的量化误差Q从4倍频鉴相时的0.327″减小到0.170″,增加MDRLG信号鉴相的倍频数可以减小量化误差。在对MDRLG信号进行抖动剥除解调时,由于量化误差是主要误差源之一,高分辨率信号处理能够有效提高MDRLG角速度测量的精度。     

Locking the frequency of lasers to an optical cavity at the 1.6×10−17 relative instability level

We stabilized the frequencies of two independent Nd:YAG lasers to two adjacent longitudinal modes of a high-finesse Fabry–Pérot resonator and obtained a beat frequency instability of 6.3 mHz at an integration time of 40 s. Referred to a single laser, this is 1.6×10^?17 relative to the laser frequency, and 1.3×10^?6 relative to the full width at half maximum of the cavity resonance. The amplitude spectrum of the beat signal had a FWHM of 7.8 mHz. This stable frequency locking is of importance for next-generation optical clock interrogation lasers and fundamental physics tests.     

Frequency stabilization of a 399-nm laser by modulation transfer spectroscopy in an ytterbium hollow cathode lamp

The modulation transfer spectroscopy in an ytterbium hollow cathode lamp at 399 nm is measured. The error signal for frequency locking is optimized by measuring the dependences of its slope, linewidth and magnitude on various parameters. Under the optimum condition, the laser frequency at 399 nm can be stabilized. The long-term stability of laser frequency is measured by monitoring the fluorescence signal of the ytterbium atomic beam induced by the locked laser. The laser frequency is shown to be tightly locked, and the stabilized laser is successfully applied to the cooling of ytterbium atoms.     

基于噪声免疫腔增强光外差分子光谱技术实现光纤激光器到1530.58 nmNH_3亚多普勒饱和光谱的频率锁定

噪声免疫腔增强光外差分子光谱技术(NICE-OHMS)由于结合了频率调制光谱与腔增强光谱两种技术,不仅可以将激光耦合到高精细度谐振腔大幅提高腔内功率,还可以实现低气压样品气体的高灵敏测量,因此基于该技术可以实现分子吸收线的饱和,获得亚多普勒光谱,从而能作为激光频率锁定的参考.本文基于光纤激光器的NICE-OHMS技术,将光纤激光器频率锁定到NH3的亚多普勒吸收线上.首先分析了基于Pound-Drever-Hall和DeVoe-Brewer技术实现激光到腔模和调制频率到腔自由光谱区频率锁定的性能,之后在腔内气压为70 mTorr条件下,测量了半高全宽为2.05 MHz的NH3亚多普勒信号,最后将1.53μm的光纤激光器频率锁定到该亚多普勒吸收线上,相对频率偏差为16.3 kHz,阿伦方差结果显示,136 s积分时间下频率稳定度达到1.6×10~(-12).     

Cancellation of laser dither modulation from optical frequency standards

We demonstrate the removal of the dither modulation from an iodine-stabilized He-Ne laser by using a frequency-modulated acousto-optic modulator and feed-forward techniques. This procedure reduces the linewidth of the beat between this laser and a flywheel He-Ne laser from 6 MHz to 8 kHz, the undithered beat linewidth being ~7 kHz. Dither suppression greatly reduces counter errors during beat measurements from stroboscopic effects between the counter's gate and the frequency of the dither modulation and increases the utility of the already formidable array of dithered laser frequency standards by making locking to them an easier task.     

A system for measuring absolute frequencies of up to 4.25 THz using a Josephson point contact

A system for measuring the absolute frequency of a far-infrared (FIR) laser is described. Josephson point contacts have been utilized in the system as a frequency harmonic mixer connecting microwaves and optically pumped CH₃OH laser lines. The Josephson point contacts are capable of generating beat signals of 90 GHz microwaves and FIR waves of up to 4.25 THz. To measure the frequency of the beat signals from the Josephson junction with a frequency counter, tracking oscillators have been developed, which tracks the beat signals by phase locking and regenerate clean signals for frequency counting. It is shown that the absolute frequency can be measured to an accuracy of about 100 Hz by using the tracking oscillators.     

Characteristics of a cw monolithic optical parametric oscillator

4 as a nonlinear crystal and obtained a pump threshold of 7 mW and an output power of 6 mW for a pump power of 40 mW. The OPO operated in a single longitudinal mode pair of a signal and an idler, over 1 h without mode hopping in the free-running condition. The signal and the idler wavelengths were tunable by 1 nm by changing the crystal temperature by 20 °C. The continuous tuning of the beat frequency between the signal and the idler was achieved by temperature tuning (slow control, 80 MHz/K) and E-field tuning (fast control, 0.75 MHz/V). We demonstrated the feasibility of frequency control by phase locking the beat frequency. The beat frequency could be successfully phase locked to a signal generated by a synthesizer through the electrooptic effect of the crystal. The phase locking could be maintained over 1 h. Received: 27 January 1998/Revised version: 9 March 1998     

A simple scheme for precise relative frequency stabilization of lasers

We present a simple scheme for tuneable relative frequency stabilization of lasers. A highly sensitive and accurate frequency-to-voltage converter is used to derive an error signal from the beat note between two lasers. We analyze in detail detector noise and drift, modulation detection bandwidth, and cross-talk from power modulation. The results indicate that sub-kHz relative linewidth and a locking point drift on the order of 100 Hz for times scales of 1 h are achievable. The scheme can, therefore, be applied to situations where up to now only optical PLLs could provide sufficient accuracy and precision. To demonstrate its potential for high-resolution, high-precision spectroscopy we lock a diode laser to a fs-frequency comb and find a relative linear drift of 314 Hz during a 2.8 h period. PACS 42.62.Fi; 42.62.Eh     

激光陀螺锁区最小化控制技术

通过分析激光陀螺锁区的形成原因,给出了锁区最小化控制的基本原理.由激光陀螺谐振腔相向传播光束的输出特性,说明了常规锁区控制方案存在的缺点.从激光陀螺基本方程推导出锁区误差判别信号,提出了基于拍频信号和腔长信号迭加放大的高信噪比锁区控制方案,对交变偏频和常值偏频激光陀螺均适用.运用该项技术,实现了对某型激光陀螺的全温范围内的锁区最小化控制.     

A simple heterodyne frequency offset locking system for pulsed lasers

As a new approach the heterodyne frequency offset locking system which is applicable to a broad range of pulsed lasers is described. A 100 MHz wide-band and all-digital frequency discriminating technique is presented and an offset locking loop in which the frequency discriminator works accordingly is designed. The result of the experiment on offset locking between a CW CO₂ laser and an electro-optically Q-switched CO₂ laser with an optical pulse width 300 ns and its repetition rate 20 kHz showed that the beat frequency stability was kept within ±2 MHz.     

Rb原子饱和吸收稳频半导体激光器系统

用饱和吸收光谱法对半导体激光器进行稳频，通过对反馈回路的优化设计，得到具有高信噪比的饱和吸收光谱微分误差信号，从而大大提高了半导体激光器的频率锁定灵敏度及长期稳定性，该中用于Rb原子的激光冷却与囚禁。     

FM dye lasers

We have investigated the detailed operation of a frequency modulated dye laser (FML). The FML consists of a standing wave Rh6G dye laser with an intracavity transverse ADP phase modulator which is driven at a frequency close to the cavity mode spacing. An ideal FML output consists of a laser beam which is constant in amplitude but sinusoidally varying in frequency. This provides a source of many laser modes which are equally spaced by the modulation frequency. Several dye laser configurations have been investigated. Measurements of the mode intensities, total power, amplitude modulation and rf beat amplitudes have been made as a function of the rf driving frequency of the phase modulator. The FM laser obtained has been frequency stabilised by locking it to a reference interferometer and also by frequency offset locking it to a single-frequency dye laser.     

Frequency stabilization of a diode laser on the Cs D2 resonance line by the Zeeman effect in a vapor cell

Hyperfine optical pumping of a Cs-vapor cell through a diode laser in frequency standards requires a high purity of the laser emission spectrum, and a high stability of the emission frequency. We present here a frequency-locking scheme that is able to produce a discrimination signal without any modulation, by using the dichroism induced by a magnetic field on the atomic vapor. The larger line-width of the reference signal (Doppler-broadened) is compensated by its larger amplitude, when compared with the saturated absorption signal. As a final result, the slope is similar, and the large line-width warrants a large locking range, making robust the lock against external perturbations. This error signal is used to lock the frequency of an external cavity diode laser, with a grating reflector in Littman configuration. A fast correction band is obtained by changing the cavity length through an intra-cavity electro-optic modulator. The possible sources of instabilities of the locking point are discussed and estimated through a simulation computer program. Received: 28 November 2000 / Revised version: 21 May 2001 / Published online: 18 July 2001     

高功率可调谐双频激光全光纤放大实验研究

基于全光纤以及主控振荡功率放大器,设计并搭建了一套扫频范围为125~165 MHz的拍频信号的放大系统。并设计了一套基于1064nm的Nd:YAG单块非平面环形腔激光器作为单频种子源。通过声光移频的方式将1064nm单频激光分成中心频差为150 MHz的两束激光进行拍频。双频激光初始功率为50mW,通过放大系统将双频功率放大到10W。通过实验及分析得出两束频差为150MHz的激光功率比率在放大之后保持不变,且经过放大的激光信号中,拍频信号所占的功率成分可以通过调节双频功率比以及单臂分量的偏正态来获得最大输出。同时对拍频信号的信噪比及线宽进行了实验分析。     

Dual-frequency pulsed laser with an accurate gigahertz-beat note

We report a novel nanosecond pulsed laser with a highly accurate gigahertz beat that is realized by injection locking to gigahertz sidebands generated from a single-frequency cw laser radiation using a Mach-Zehnder type intensity modulator. It is shown from both the spectrum of the pulsed sidebands and their coherent beat in the time domain that the frequency accuracy of an rf oscillator driving the intensity modulator is reflected in the injection-locked nanosecond pulse with an intense peak power of the megawatt class.     

采用铯原子偏振光谱对894.6nm外腔式半导体激光器稳频的实验研究

通过铯原子D_1线超精细跃迁能级的偏振光谱获得鉴频曲线,利用电子伺服系统将鉴频曲线反馈到894.6nm外腔式半导体激光器的压电陶瓷上进行锁定。由于偏振光谱技术不需要对激光器进行调制,因此不会带来额外的噪声。激光器自由运转400s内频率起伏为2.35 MHz,采用偏振光谱锁定激光器后400s内频率起伏为0.95 MHz,有效抑制了激光器的频率起伏。