Proposal of a frequency-synthesis chain between the microwave and optical frequencies of the Ca intercombination line at 657 nm using diode lasers

We propose a frequency synthesis chain which can directly connect a microwave atomic clock with a visible laser. We design this chain for the frequency measurement of a visible laser locked on the intercombination transition of Ca at 657 nm. The proposed chain is based on both an optical difference frequency divider and an optical frequency comb generator, and it is designed to use nine visible and near-infrared diode lasers. We discuss the technical requirements to realize the frequency measurement accuracy level of 10^–14.     

Accuracy of optical frequency comb generators and optical frequency interval divider chains

We compared two methods for measuring large optical frequency differences: an optical frequency comb generator, which creates a large number of sidebands from a single-mode laser through electro-optic modulation, and an optical frequency interval divider chain, which divides a frequency gap successively by two until it becomes accessible to a radio-frequency counter. By locking two diode lasers to two modulation sidebands of a comb generator, ~1 THz apart, and measuring this interval with a chain of four phase-locked interval dividers, we demonstrate for the first time to our knowledge the accuracy of both techniques within an experimental limit of 6.8 x 10(-15).     

Accuracy comparison of absolute optical frequency measurement between harmonic-generation synthesis and a frequency-division femtosecond comb

Using an iodine-stabilized He-Ne laser as a transfer oscillator, we compare absolute measurements of the optical frequency from a traditional frequency synthesis chain based on harmonic generation and from the frequency division technique of an ultrawide bandwidth femtosecond frequency comb. The agreement between these two measurements, both linked to the Cs standard, is 220+/-770 Hz, yielding a measurement accuracy of 1.6x10(-12). We report 473 612 353 604.8+/-1.2 kHz as a preliminary updated value of the absolute frequency of the " f" component for the He-Ne laser international standard at 633 nm.     

利用光频梳提高台阶高度测量准确度的方法

提出一种利用光频梳和可调谐半导体激光器提高台阶高度测量准确度的方法. 通过将可调谐激光器锁定至光频梳,可对激光器的输出波长进行精确锁定与测量.基于可调合成波长链原理,利用锁定后的半导体激光器构建了一套台阶高度测量方案,该方案可消除合成波长误差对台阶高度测量不确定度的影响. 采用一台可调谐半导体激光器和光频梳进行了5000 s的连续锁定实验, 结果表明,锁定后的可调谐半导体激光器的频率稳定度达 1.8×10^-12.该方法的理论测量不确定度约为7.9 nm, 且测量结果可溯源至时间频率基准.     

Optical frequency counters

Realization of optical subharmonic generation enables us to devise various kinds of optical frequency counters. In contrast to the optical frequency measurement with a chain of servo-controlled oscillators, proposed optical frequency counters are composed of nonlinear optical components and amplifiers without using laser oscillators or frequency stabilization. It is possible to construct the proposed optical frequency counter by using available components of the present state-of-the-art in the visible and near-infrared region of the spectrum. Then a compact and universal frequency counter for optical oscillations will appear.Prof. F. P. Schäfer on the occasion of his 65th birthday.     

基于光纤的光学频率传递研究

随着光钟研究的发展, 光钟的稳定度和不确定度均达到10^-18量级. 通过光纤可以实现光钟频率信号的高精度传输, 有望用于未来“秒”定义的复现. 演示了百公里级实验室光纤上的光学频率传递. 对于在实验室70 km光纤盘上实现的光频传递, 光纤相位噪声抑制在1-250 Hz傅里叶频率范围内均接近于光纤延时极限, 对应传输稳定度(Allan偏差)为秒级稳定度1.2×10^-15, 10000 s稳定度为1.4×10^-18. 实验室100 km光纤的光频传递秒级稳定度也达到了5×10^-15. 提出了光纤噪声用户端补偿的方案, 可以简化星形传递网络中心站的复杂度. 在25 km光纤上演示了该传递方案, 实现的传输稳定度接近传统前置补偿传递方案.     

Absolute frequency measurement of a 1.5-microm acetylene standard by use of a combined frequency chain and femtosecond comb

We have developed and characterized a pair of Doppler-free acetylene-stabilized diode laser frequency standards as optical communications references. The Allan deviation sigma/f of an individual system reaches a minimum of 4 x 10(-14) at a sampling time of 5000 s, and the long-term lock-point repeatability is found to be 0.4 kHz (one standard uncertainty), corresponding to a fractional uncertainty of 2 x 10(-12). Using a combination of a frequency chain and a self-referenced femtosecond comb, we have measured the frequency of line P(16) of the v1 + v3 overtone band of 13C2H2 to be 194,369,569,385.9 (3.0) kHz. The uncertainty of this number is limited solely by the reproducibility of the standards.     

Melting behaviours of nickel nanorods

We report the synthesis and measurement of an ultra-precise and extremely stable optical frequency in the telecommunications window around 1543 nm. Using a fibre-based femtosecond frequency comb we have phase-stabilised a fibre laser at 194 THz to an optical frequency standard at 344 THz, thus transferring the properties of the optical frequency standard to another spectral region. Relative to the optical frequency standard, the synthesised frequency at 194 THz is determined to within 1 mHz and its fractional frequency instability is measured to be less than 2×10^-15 at 1 s, reaching 5× 10^-18 after 8000 s. We also measured the synthesised frequency against a caesium fountain clock: here the frequency comparison itself contributes less than 4 mHz (2×10^-17) to the uncertainty. Our results confirm the suitability of fibre based frequency comb technology for precision measurements and frequency synthesis, and enable long-distance comparison of optical clocks by using optical fibres to transmit the frequency information.     

Direct comparison of two cold-atom-based optical frequency standards by using a femtosecond-laser comb

With a fiber-broadened, femtosecond-laser frequency comb, the 76-THz interval between two laser-cooled optical frequency standards was measured with a statistical uncertainty of 2x10(-13) in 5 s , to our knowledge the best short-term instability thus far reported for an optical frequency measurement. One standard is based on the calcium intercombination line at 657 nm, and the other, on the mercury ion electric-quadrupole transition at 282 nm. By linking this measurement to the known Ca frequency, we report a new frequency value for the Hg(+) clock transition with an improvement in accuracy of ~10(5) compared with its best previous measurement.     

Determination of phase fluctuations of a Highly-Stabilized laser by the analysis of photon echo decay functions

The simple 2-pulse echo as a prototype of coherent spectroscopy offers the unique possibility for a recall of past time parameters. This feature is utilized in the optical frequency domain for the realization of a phase comparator, equivalent to an optical interferometer of approximately 10 km variable path length difference. The measured autocorrelation time of the optical field is a convenient absolute measure of the frequency stability of the laser field and has been tested in the 10–100 kHz line width range.     

Precise determination of characteristic laser frequencies by an Er-doped fiber optical frequency comb

Femtosecond optical frequency combs correlate the microwave and optical frequencies accurately and coherently. Therefore, any optical frequency in visible to near-infrared region can be directly traced to a microwave frequency. As a result, the length unit "meter" is directly related to the time unit "second". This paper validates the capability of the national wavelength standards based on a home-made Er-doped fiber femtosecond optical frequency comb to measure the laser frequencies ranging from visible to near-infrared region. Optical frequency conversion in the femtosecond optical frequency comb is achieved by combining spectral broadening in a highly nonlinear fiber with a single-point frequency-doubling scheme. The signal-to-noise ratio of the beat notes between the femtosecond optical frequency comb and the lasers at 633, 698, 729, 780, 1064, and 1542 nm is better than 30 dB. The frequency instability of the above lasers is evaluated by using a hydrogen clock signal with a instability of better than 1×10^-13 at 1-s averaging time. The measurement is further validated by measuring the absolute optical frequency of an iodine-stabilized 532-nm laser and an acetylene-stabilized 1542-nm laser. The results are within the uncertainty range of the international recommended values. Our results demonstrate the accurate optical frequency measurement of lasers at different frequencies using the femtosecond optical frequency comb, which is not only important for the precise and accurate traceability and calibration of the laser frequencies, but also provides technical support for establishing the national wavelength standards based on the femtosecond optical frequency comb.     

Single-atom optical clock with high accuracy

For the past 50 years, atomic standards based on the frequency of the cesium ground-state hyperfine transition have been the most accurate time pieces in the world. We now report a comparison between the cesium fountain standard NIST-F1, which has been evaluated with an inaccuracy of about 4 x 10(-16), and an optical frequency standard based on an ultraviolet transition in a single, laser-cooled mercury ion for which the fractional systematic frequency uncertainty was below 7.2 x 10(-17). The absolute frequency of the transition was measured versus cesium to be 1,064,721,609,899,144.94 (97) Hz, with a statistically limited total fractional uncertainty of 9.1 x 10(-16) the most accurate absolute measurement of an optical frequency to date.     

Optical frequency comb technology for ultra‐broadband radio‐frequency photonics

The outstanding phase‐noise performance of optical frequency combs has led to a revolution in optical synthesis and metrology, covering a myriad of applications, from molecular spectroscopy to laser ranging and optical communications. However, the ideal characteristics of an optical frequency comb are application dependent. In this review, the different techniques for the generation and processing of high‐repetition‐rate (>10 GHz) optical frequency combs with technologies compatible with optical communication equipment are covered. Particular emphasis is put on the benefits and prospects of this technology in the general field of radio‐frequency photonics, including applications in high‐performance microwave photonic filtering, ultra‐broadband coherent communications, and radio‐frequency arbitrary waveform generation.     

Absolute frequency measurement of the In+ clock transition with a mode-locked laser

The absolute frequency of the In(+) 5s(2) (1)S(0)5s5p (3)P(0) clock transition at 237 nm was measured with an accuracy of 1.8 parts in 10(13). Using a phase-coherent frequency chain, we compared the (1)S(0)(3)P(0) transition with a methane-stabilized HeNe laser at 3.39 mum, which was calibrated against an atomic cesium fountain clock. A frequency gap of 37 THz at the fourth harmonic of the HeNe standard was bridged by a frequency comb generated by a mode-locked femtosecond laser. The frequency of the In(+) clock transition was found to be 1 267 402 452 899.92 (0.23) kHz, the accuracy being limited by the uncertainty of the HeNe laser reference. This result represents an improvement in accuracy of more than 2 orders of magnitude over previous measurements of the line and now stands as what is to our knowledge the most accurate measurement of an optical transition in a single ion.s.     

Improved short-term stability of optical frequency standards: approaching 1 Hz in 1 s with the Ca standard at 657 nm

For a neutral (40)Ca-based optical frequency standard we report a fractional frequency instability of 4 x 10(-15) in 1 s, which represents a fivefold improvement over existing atomic frequency standards. Using the technique of optical Bordé-Ramsey spectroscopy with a sample of 10(7) trapped atoms, we have resolved linewidths as narrow as 200 Hz (FWHM). With colder atoms this system could potentially achieve an instability as low as 2 x 10(-16) in 1 s. Such low instabilities are important for frequency standards and precision tests of fundamental physics.     

An Yb-fiber frequency comb phase-locked to microwave standard and optical reference

We present a fully stabilized Yb-fiber frequency comb locked to a microwave standard and an optical reference separately. The carrier-envelope offset frequency is generated by a standard f–2f interferometer with 40 dB signal-tonoise ratio. The offset frequency and the repetition rate are stabilized simultaneously to the radio frequency reference for more than 30 hours, and the fractional Allan deviation of the comb is the same as the microwave standard of 10^-12 at 1 s.Alternatively, the comb is locked to an ultra-stable optical reference at 972 nm using an intracavity electro-optic modulator,exhibiting a residual integrated phase noise of 458 mrad(1 Hz–10 MHz) and an in-loop tracking stability of 1.77× 10^-18 at 1 s, which is significantly raised by six orders comparing to the case locked to the microwave frequency standard.     

Ultrastable cesium atomic clock with a 9.1926-GHz regeneratively mode-locked fiber laser

We describe an ultrastable cesium (Cs) atomic clock with a 9.1926-GHz regeneratively mode-locked fiber laser obtained by use of an optically pumped Cs beam tube. By adopting a 1-m-long Cs beam tube with a linewidth of 110 Hz, we have successfully obtained frequency stabilities of 4.8 x 10(-12) for tau = 1 s and 6.3 x 10(-13) for tau = 50 s for a 9.1926-GHz microwave output signal. This Cs atomic clock can generate an optical pulse train with the same stability as that of the obtained microwave, which allows us to deliver a frequency standard optical signal throughout the world by means of optical fiber networks.     

Practical optical frequency measurement system around 1.5 μm based on an acetylene-stabilized laser-locked optical frequency comb

We have developed a practical and precise frequency measurement system at 1.5 μm telecommunication band. An electro-optic-modulator based optical frequency comb is phase-locked to a dither-free acetylene-stabilized laser to realize an optical frequency comb with frequency uncertainty of 10 kHz (5 × 10⁻¹¹) and the linewidth of 15 kHz. The present frequency comb can be also used as an optical frequency reference grid defined by ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Standardization Sector). Using the present frequency measurement system, we have demonstrated the first optical frequency measurement of ¹²C¹⁶O overtone absorption lines around 1.56 μm with the uncertainty of lower than 900 kHz.     

Study on the optical limiting properties of the mixed liquid of carbon black suspensions and green tea solution by multi-pulse laser

The optical limiting properties of the mixed liquid of carbon black suspensions (CBS) and green tea solution were studied by using an 8 ns laser pulse at 532\,nm. The optical limiting effects of the CBS and mixed liquid have been compared between 5 and 10\,Hz repetition frequencies with nanosecond laser pulse. The experimental results indicate that the optical limiting threshold of the sample with the incidence laser at 10\,Hz repetition frequency is lower than at 5\,Hz repetition frequency. The possible reasons for the influence of the repetition frequency on the samples are discussed. And by observing the optical radiant distributions when the laser pulse passing through different samples, a possible mechanism for the observed effects is suggested. At the same time, the result shows that the optical limiting of CBS is the dominant factor to optical limiting of the mixed liquid.     

基于飞秒光频梳的压电陶瓷闭环位移控制系统

利用飞秒光频梳、外腔可调谐半导体激光器和法布里-珀罗干涉仪建立了一套压电陶瓷亚纳米级闭环位移控制系统. 将可调谐半导体激光器锁定至光频梳, 通过精确调谐光频梳的重复频率, 实现了半导体激光器在其工作频率范围内的精密调谐. 利用Pound-Drever-Hall锁定技术将带有压电陶瓷的法布里-珀罗腔锁定至半导体激光器, 进而通过频率发生系统控制压电陶瓷产生亚纳米级分辨率的位移. 实验研究发现锁定至光频梳后可调谐半导体激光器1 s的Allan标准偏差为1.68×10^-12, 将其在30.9496 GHz范围内进行连续闭环调谐, 可获得压电陶瓷的位移行程约为4.8 μm; 以3.75 Hz的步长扫描光频梳的重复频率, 实现了压电陶瓷的450 pm闭环位移分辨率并测定了压电陶瓷的磁滞特性曲线. 该系统不存在非线性测量误差, 且激光频率及压电陶瓷位移均溯源至铷钟频率源. 关键词： 光频梳 压电陶瓷 法布里-珀罗腔 可调谐半导体激光器