Simple laser frequency locking based on Doppler-free magnetically induced dichroism

We present a simple and reliable optical setup for active stabilization of a diode laser. The method combines Doppler-free spectroscopy and magnetically induced dichroism in atomic vapor. The long- and short-term stability is achieved using a simplified optical and laser setup. We apply the setup to stabilize an external-cavity diode laser to the D2 atomic resonance in potassium vapor. With the laser locked we attain long-term stabilization to the atomic line with the reduction of laser frequency jitter down to 0.5 MHz on a 50 ms timescale.     

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.     

Frequency stabilization of a diode laser using electromagnetically induced transparency in a V-configuration cesium atom

An electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) signal is observed in a V-type energy level scheme in a cesium vapor cell at room temperature. The effects of frequency detuning and the intensity of the pump laser on the EIT signal have been investigated. The performance of the probe-diode laser system, which is frequency stabilized on the EIT signal by using electrical feedback, is explored. The first derivative of the EIT signal offers a steeper slope and better S/N ratio for laser frequency stabilization than that of the Doppler-free hyperfine and crossover resonances. A comparative study of the frequency stability of an external-cavity diode laser stabilized at EIT and at the crossover resonance is presented. The square root of the Allan variance (σ) vs. integration time (τ) plot shows about a tenfold improvement in the frequency stability of the EIT-locked laser (σ ～ 2.043 × 10^?13τ^?1/2) over that of the crossover-locked laser under a short integration time (1–10 ms), whereas a twofold improvement is found under a long integration time (～1 s).     

High-resolution laser spectroscopy of ultracold ytterbium atoms using spin-forbidden electric quadrupole transition

We have successfully observed high-resolution spectra of spin-forbidden electric quadrupole transition (¹ S ₀→³ D ₂) in ytterbium (¹⁷⁴Yb) atoms. The differential light shifts between the ¹ S ₀ and the ³ D ₂ states in a far-off resonant trap at 532 nm are also measured. For the spectroscopy, we developed simple, narrow-linewidth, and long-term frequency stabilized violet diode laser systems. Long-term drifts of the excitation laser (404 nm) is suppressed by locking the laser to a length stabilized optical cavity. The optical path length of the cavity is stabilized to another diode laser whose frequency is locked to a strong ¹ S ₀→¹ P ₁ transition (399 nm) of Yb. Both lasers are standard extended-cavity diode lasers (ECDLs) in the Littrow configuration. Since the linewidth of a violet ECDL (～10 MHz) is broader than a typical value of a red or near infra-red ECDL (<1 MHz), we employ optical feedback from a narrow-band Fabry–Perot cavity to reduce the linewidth. The linewidth is expected to be <20 kHz for 1 ms averaging time, and the long-term frequency stability is estimated to be ～200 kHz/h.     

Frequency comb-referenced narrow line width diode laser system for coherent molecular spectroscopy

We analyze in detail the frequency noise properties of a grating enhanced external cavity diode laser (GEECDL). This system merges two diode laser concepts, the grating stabilized diode laser and the diode laser with resonant optical feedback, thus combining a large tuning range with an excellent short-term frequency stability. We compare the frequency noise spectrum of a GEECDL to that of a grating stabilized diode laser and demonstrate a 10-fold reduction of the frequency noise linear spectral density. The GEECDL is phase locked to a similar laser and to a fs-frequency comb with a servo loop providing an open-loop unity-gain frequency of only 237 kHz, which is a tenth of the bandwidth typically required for grating stabilized diode lasers. We achieve a residual rms phase error as small as 72 mrad (≈ 200 mrad) for stabilization to a similar laser (to the fs-frequency comb). We demonstrate that the novel diode laser can phase-coherently track a stable optical reference with an instability of 1.8×10^-16 at 1 s. This laser system is well suited for applications that require phase locking to a low-power optical reference under noisy conditions. It may also be considered for the implementation of optical clock lasers. PACS 42.55.Px; 42.60.Jf; 42.50.Gy     

Precise measurement of hyperfine structure in the 52P1/2 state of Rb

We have measured hyperfine structure in the 5 ²P_1/2 state of Rb using a frequency-stabilized diode laser, which is locked to one hyperfine transition, and an acousto-optic modulator, whose frequency is locked to the interval of interest. We check for optical-pumping errors by repeating the measurement at different values of pump power in the saturated-absorption spectrometer. We obtain precise values of the hyperfine constant: A=120.645(5) MHz for ⁸⁵Rb and A=406.119(7) MHz for ⁸⁷Rb. The values resolve a large discrepancy between two earlier high-accuracy measurements on this state.     

基于飞秒光频梳的双频He-Ne激光器频率测量

利用光纤飞秒光频梳和外腔可调谐半导体激光器, 建立了一套双频He-Ne激光器频率测量系统. 选用铷钟作为系统的频率基准, 通过将外腔半导体激光锁定至光频梳使得其频率溯源至铷钟, 再利用外腔可调谐半导体激光与双频He-Ne激光器输出的正交偏振激光拍频, 同时测量两路正交偏振激光频率. 将可调谐半导体激光器锁定至光频梳第1894449个梳齿, 其绝对频率为473612190000.0±2.7 kHz, 相对不确定度为5.7×10^-12. 对商品双频He-Ne激光器进行频率测量实验, 双频He-Ne激光器水平方向偏振激光频率均值为473612229934 kHz, 竖直方向偏振激光频率均值为473612232111 kHz, 平均时间为1024 s的相对Allan标准差为5.2×10^-11, 频差均值为2.177 MHz, 标准偏差为2 kHz.     

Injection locking of a diode laser locked to a Zeeman frequency stabilized laser oscillator

We describe the design and performance of an injection-locked diode laser locked to a stabilized, single frequency, unmodulated diode laser. The master oscillator is a grating-tuned, external cavity diode laser which is stabilized on a Doppler free alkali metal resonance transition frequency via Zeeman locking. The master oscillator frequency is shifted by an acousto-optic modulator, which provides optical isolation of the master oscillator laser while tuning of the acousto-optic modulation frequency can also provide frequency offset tuning. The slave laser is a free running diode which is injection-locked by a small fraction of the frequency shifted master oscillator light. Good long- and short-time frequency stability are observed for both the Zeeman-locked master oscillator and the injection-locked slave laser.     

Frequency doubling of wavelength locked laser diOde with a transmission-type filter in a confocal optical configuratiOn

Direct frequency doubling of a wavelength locked laser diode with an optical bandpass filter in a confocal optical configuration is demonstrated. The wavelength of the laser diode was locked in single longitudinal mode oscillation and tuned to phase-matching wavelength of a quasi-phase-matched second harmonic generation device based on a LiTaO₃ Waveguide. Stable blue light of 4.2 mW was obtained for incident power of 48 mW.     

Atomic frequency offset locking in a Λ type three-level Doppler broadened Cs system

We here present a comparative study of frequency stabilities of pump and probe lasers coupled at a frequency offset generated by coherent photon-atom interaction. Pump-probe spectroscopy of the Λ configuration in D₂ transition of cesium is carried out to obtain sub-natural (∼2 MHz) electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and sub-Doppler (∼10 MHz) Autler-Townes (AT) resonance. The pump laser is locked on the saturated absorption spectrum (SAS, ∼13 MHz) and the probe laser is successively stabilized on EIT and AT signals. Frequency stabilities of pump and probe lasers are calculated in terms of Allan variance σ(2,τ) by using the frequency noise power spectrum. It is found that the frequency stability of the probe stabilized on EIT is superior (σ∼2×10⁻¹³) to that of SAS locked pump laser (σ∼10⁻¹²), whereas the performance of the AT stabilized laser is inferior (σ∼6×10⁻¹²). This contrasting behavior is discussed in terms of the theme of conventional master-slave offset locking scheme and the mechanisms underlying the EIT and sub-Doppler AT resonances in a Doppler broadened atomic medium.     

Heterodyne frequency measurements of carbonyl sulfide transitions at 26 and 51 THz. Improved OCS,O13CS,and OC34S molecular constants

Heterodyne frequency measurements were made on selected absorption features of carbonyl sulfide (OCS) near 26 THz (860 cm^?1) and 51 THz (1700 cm^?1). Frequency differences were measured between a tunable diode laser (TDL) locked to carbonyl sulfide absorption lines and either a stabilized ¹³CO₂ laser or a CO laser which was referred to stabilized CO₂ lasers. These measurements are combined with conventional TDL measurements and published microwave measurements to obtain new, more reliable molecular constants for OCS, O¹³CS, and OC³⁴S. New frequency measurements are given for nine CO laser transitions between 1686 and 1726 cm^?1.     

All-solid-state continuous-wave frequency doubling Nd:LuVO4/LBO laser with 9.6 W output power at 672 nm

An efficient and compact red laser at 672 nm is generated by intracavity frequency doubling of a continuous wave (CW) laser operation of a diode pumped Nd:LuVO₄ laser at 1344 nm under the condition of suppression the higher gain transition near 1064 nm. With 38 W diode pump power and a frequency doubling crystal LBO, as high as 9.6 W of CW output power at 672 nm is achieved, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 25.3% and the output power stability in 8 h is better than 2.38%. To the best of our knowledge, this it the highest conversion efficiency of watt-level laser at 672 nm generated by intracavity frequency doubling of a diode pumped Nd:LuVO₄ laser at 1344 nm.     

Injection-locking technique for heterodyne optical phase locking of a diode laser

A novel technique is demonstrated for heterodyne optical phase locking of a diode laser to a single-frequency source by injection seeding. By modulation of the drive current of the diode laser at as much as several gigahertz, FM sidebands are imposed upon the output. We demonstrate that it is possible to phase lock either sideband to an injected beam. The carrier of the diode laser output is therefore locked in phase with the injected light but with a frequency difference given by the modulation of the drive current. The phase fluctuations between the lasers are analyzed, and the variance is found to be (4.4( degrees ))(2) , corresponding to 99.4% of the diode carrier light locked to the injected beam.     

Characterisation of the potential of frequency modulation and optical feedback locking for cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy

A combination of optical feedback self-locking of a continuous-wave distributed feedback diode laser to a V-shaped high finesse cavity, laser phase modulation at a frequency equal to the free spectral range of the V-cavity and detection of the transmitted laser beam at this high modulation frequency is described for the possible application in cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy. In order to estimate the noise level of an absorbance baseline, the triplet of frequency modulated light, i.e. the central laser frequency and the two sidebands, were transmitted through both the V-cavity in open air and a 1.5-cm long optical cell placed behind the cavity output mirror and filled with acetylene (C₂H₂) at low pressure. The performance of the setup was evaluated from the measured relative intensity noise on the cavity output (normalised by the bandwidth) and the frequency modulation absorption signals induced by C₂H₂ absorption in the 1.5-cm cell. From these data, we estimate that the noise-equivalent absorption sensitivity of 2.1 × 10^?11 cm^?1 Hz^?1/2—by a factor of 11.7 above the shot-noise limit—can be achieved for C₂H₂ absorption spectra extracted from the heterodyne beat signals recorded at the transmission maxima intensity peaks of the successive TEM₀₀ resonances.     

Absolute frequency measurement of acetylene transitions in the region of 1540 nm

An optical frequency comb has been used to measure the frequency of a diode laser system, locked to the P(10), P(11), P(15), P(16), P(20), and P(21) transitions in the ₁+₃ overtone band of ¹³C₂H₂. When locked to any of these transitions, the laser frequency showed a stability of 4×10^-12 in 1 s and a reproducibility of better than 1 kHz. The frequency of the reference P(16) transition was found to be P(16)=194369569383.83 kHz with an uncertainty of 0.32 kHz, based on measurements of a single system, and 2.5 kHz, based on the reproducibility of independent systems. PACS 06.30.Ft; 33.20Ea; 42.62.Fi     

Laser frequency stabilization and large detuning by Doppler-free dichroic lock technique: Application to atom cooling

We present results of a study of frequency stabilization of a diode laser (λ = 780 nm) using the Doppler-free dichroic lock (DFDL) technique and its use for laser cooling of atoms. Quantitative measurements of frequency stability were performed and the Allan variance was found to be 6.9 × 10¹¹ for an averaging time of 10 s. The frequency-stabilized diode laser was used to obtain the trapping beams for a magneto-optic trap (MOT) for Rb atoms. Using the DFDL technique, the laser frequency could be locked over a wide range and this enabled measurement of detuning dependence of the number and temperature of cold atoms using a relatively simple experimental set-up.     

Continuous wave,distributed feedback diode laser based sensor for trace-gas detection of ethane

The development of a continuous wave (CW), thermoelectrically cooled (TEC), distributed feedback (DFB) laser diode based spectroscopic trace-gas sensor for ultra-sensitive and selective ethane (C₂H₆) concentration measurements is reported. The sensor platform used tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) based on a 2f wavelength modulation (WM) detection technique. TDLAS was performed with a 100 m optical path length astigmatic Herriott cell. For an interference free C₂H₆ absorption line located at 2976.8 cm⁻¹ a 1σ minimum detection limit of 240 pptv (part per trillion by volume) with a 1 second lock-in amplifier time constant was achieved. In addition, reliable and long-term sensor performance was obtained when operating the sensor in an absorption line locked mode.     

Absolute frequency measurement in the 28-THz spectral region with a femtosecond laser comb and a long-distance optical link to a primary standard

A new frequency chain was demonstrated to measure an optical frequency standard based on a rovibrational molecular transition in the 28-THz spectral region accessible to a CO₂ laser. It uses a femtosecond-laser frequency comb generator and two laser diodes at 852 nm and 788 nm as intermediate oscillators, with their frequency difference phase locked to the CO₂ laser. The rf repetition rate of the femtosecond laser was compared with a 100-MHz signal from a hydrogen maser, located at BNM-SYRTE. The 100-MHz signal is transmitted by amplitude modulation of a 1.55-m laser diode through a 43-km telecommunication optical fibre. As a first example, the absolute measurement of a saturation line of OsO₄ in the vicinity of the P(16) laser line of CO₂ is reported with a relative uncertainty of 10^-12, limited by the CO₂/OsO₄ frequency day-to-day reproducibility. The current limit on the stability of the frequency measurement is 4×10^-13 at 1 s. PACS 06.20.-f; 42.62.Eh; 06.30.Ft     

All-solid-state continuous-wave frequency doubling Nd:LuVO4/LBO laser with 9.6 W output power at 458 nm

An efficient and compact red laser at 458 nm is generated by intracavity frequency doubling of a continuous wave (CW) laser operation of a diode pumped Nd:LuVO₄ laser at 916 nm under the condition of suppression the higher gain transition near 1064 nm. With 30 W diode pump power and a frequency doubling crystal LBO, as high as 9.6 W of CW output power at 458 nm is achieved, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 32.0% and the output power stability in 8 hours is better than 2.35%. To the best of our knowledge, this it the highest conversion efficiency of watt-level laser at 458 nm generated by intracavity frequency doubling of a diode pumped Nd:LuVO₄ laser at 916 nm.