High-resolution spectroscopy with and frequency stabilization of a cw dye laser

The hyperfine splittings of the Na D₁ and D₂ lines were investigated using a single mode cw dye laser. The light of the laser was scattered by the atoms of an atomic beam and the fluorescent light was observed as the frequency of the laser was tuned across the D lines. The Doppler width of the atomic beam was reduced to about 2.5 MHz so that the absorption width of the atoms of the beam was essentially determined by the natural width of the 3²P_1/2 and 3²P_3/2 levels, which is about 10 MHz. Since the linewidth observed for the hyperfine transitions was 30 MHz, most of the hyperfine components of the D₁ and D₂ lines could be resolved. In another experiment the frequency of the dye laser was locked to a hyperfine transition of the D₁ line. The observed variation of the output frequency of the dye laser was less than ±1.5 MHz. In addition, the intensity of the dye laser was controlled to about 10⁻³, using an electro-optically variable transmission filter.     

A laser system for the excitation of rubidium Rydberg states using second harmonic generation in a PPLN waveguide crystal

We report on a laser system at a wavelength of 495 nm which is suitable for the excitations of low lying Rydberg states of rubidium atoms. The system is based on frequency doubling of a seeded diode laser in a periodically poled waveguide crystal. We achieve an output power of up to 35 mW and prove the single-frequency performance by direct two photon laser spectroscopy of the rubidium 14D _5/2 and 14D _3/2 states. The measured fine structure splitting is consistent with quantum defect theory calculations.     

Laser-frequency stabilization using forward scattering

Frequency stabilization of a single-mode dye laser is demonstrated using a simple magneto-optical forward scattering method. The dye laser was locked to the 2p₄–3s_s2, = 633 nm neon transition. Heterodyne beat-frequency measurements against a¹²⁷I₂-He-Ne meter standard laser showed a frequency stability of a few MHz.     

Lifetime measurement of the (5d6p)3D3 state of barium by dye-laser spectroscopy

We have measured the radiative lifetime of the (5d6p)³D₃ state of barium by Hanle effect. This state was populated by cw dye laser excitation of an atomic beam of Ba in the metastable (5d6s)³D₃ state. The metastable state was populated by a dc discharge. With dye laser excitation, the shape of the Hanle effect curve is strongly modified due to optical pumping of the metastable state. A brief discussion of the expected and observed signal shapes is given. The radiative lifetime of the (5d6p)³D₃ state is measured to be τ = 10.2 ± 1.5 ns.     

Laser stabilization to an atomic transition using an optically generated dispersive line shape

We report a simple and robust technique to generate a dispersive signal which serves as an error signal to electronically stabilize a monomode continuous-wave laser emitting around an atomic resonance. We explore nonlinear effects in the laser beam propagation through a resonant vapor by way of spatial filtering. The performance of this technique is validated by locking semiconductor lasers to the cesium and rubidium D₂ lines and observing long-term reduction of the emission frequency drifts, making the lasers well adapted for many atomic physics applications.     

Coherent spectroscopy with a distributed feedback dye laser

A simple and flexible distributed feedback dye laser source pumped by the harmonic of a mode-locked YAG laser is described. Measurements of dephasing times of isotopic and hot bands in CS₂ liquid exploiting both the frequency and time-resolution of this source are reported.     

Application of the light-shift effect to laser frequency stabilization with reference to a microwave frequency standard

A new method allowing laser frequency stabilization with reference to a microwave oscillator, independently of the laser intensity, is described. The method makes use of the dependence of the ground-state hfs transition frequency on the optical radiation frequency in alkali atoms irradiated by quasi-resonant light. Preliminary experimental investigations are reported in the case of a cw GaAs diode laser tuned to the D₂ absorption line in a cesium gas cell. The absolute laser frequency exhibited variations of 1.4 MHz r.m.s. around an average value determined to within 2 parts in 10¹⁰ for a period of 5 minutes. The possibility of defining a cesium beam, reference wavelength connected with the time standard is discussed.     

Atomic resonance behavior in laser-induced Rb atom desorption—the effect of ambient gas atoms and molecules

We report an observation that in a typical optical pumping cell containing Rb metal and 150 Torr N₂ gas, a cw laser beam of a few tens of mW and beam size 5.5 mm² can desorb Rb films on cell surfaces when the laser is tuned to the Rb D₁ line. The frequency dependence of the Rb desorption rate displays atomic resonance behavior. The desorption is suggested to be mediated by the ambient gas atoms (Rb) and molecules (N₂). The phenomenon was used to provide evidence for the existence of thin Rb films on seemingly clear cell surfaces.     

Tunable single-frequency operation of a diode-pumped vertical external-cavity laser at the cesium D<Subscript>2</Subscript> line

We report on a diode-pumped vertical external-cavity surface-emitting laser emitting around 852 nm for Cesium atomic clocks experiments. We have designed a 7-quantum-well semiconductor structure optimized for low laser threshold. An output power of 330 mW was achieved for 1.1 W of incident pump power. Furthermore, a compact setup was built for low-power single-frequency emission. We obtained an output power of 17 mW in a single longitudinal mode, exhibiting both broad (9 nm) and continuous (14 GHz) tunability around the Cesium D₂ line. The laser frequency has been stabilized on an atomic transition with residual frequency fluctuations ∼300 kHz. Through a beatnote experiment the −3 dB laser linewidth has been measured to <500 kHz over 10 ms.     

Saturation spectroscopy of ultraviolet transitions in mercury with a frequency-doubled cw ring dye laser

Doppler-free saturated absorption spectroscopy has been used to study the ultraviolet HgI transitions 6³P₀-6³D₁ at 296.73 nm and 6³P₀-6¹D₂ at 296.76 nm. The required tunable ultraviolet radiation was produced by a ring cavity cw dye laser with intracavity ADA frequency doubler. The isotope shifts of the 6³P⁰ -6³D₁ line for naturally abundant mercury have been measured to within a few MHz.     

Frequency-stabilized Nd:YVO4 thin-disk laser

We have developed a Nd:YVO₄ thin-disk laser at 914 nm with single-frequency operation and active frequency stabilization to a low-finesse reference cavity. The spectral density of laser frequency noise is analysed by means of noise measurements at the error point of the frequency control loop. To address the 3¹S₀→3³P₁ magnesium intercombination line at 457 nm, we use an external frequency doubling stage based on periodically poled KTiOPO₄ for the generation of more than 150-mW output power at 457 nm. Optical beat signal measurements at 457 nm with a frequency-stable dye laser show a short-time line width of the thin-disk laser of less than 100 kHz. PACS 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Lh; 42.62.Fi; 42.65.Ky     

Radiation-power broadening of the Na-D lines in a vapour cell

We have measured the time-resolved fluorescence spectrum of both Na-D lines in a vapour cell. The atoms were excited with a spectrally broadband pulsed dye laser, tuned to resonance. The width of the Na-D lines turned out to be a linear function of the laser intensity, as is predicted by a simple theory based on lifetime considerations. The experimental results are in quantitative agreement with this theory.     

2-photon ionization for efficient seeding and trapping of strontium ions

We describe an efficient way to photoionize strontium atoms in a linear radio-frequency trap. We use a 2-photon second order process to excite the autoionization resonance (4d²+5p²) ¹D₂ in neutral strontium (Sr). A doubled Ti:sapphire laser system is used at 431 nm to provide 100 fs pulses at 82 MHz. The fabrication of the laser systems for addressing the Sr⁺ transitions necessary for laser cooling and excitation of quantum jumps, vacuum system and ion trap structure are also described. With the current setup a easy and repeatable trapping of linear ion chains is readily achieved at very low Sr vapor pressures.     

CW ultraviolet saturation spectroscopy of the 6p 3P0-9s 3S1 transition in mercury at 246.5 nm

We have measured the even isotope structure of the 6p ³P₀-9s ³S₁ transition in mercury at 246.5 nm using saturated absorption spectroscopy with radiation produced as the sum frequency of a 363.8 nm argon ion laser and an LD700 ring dye laser in ADP. This is the first use of cw sum-frequency mixing in nonlinear laser spectroscopy in the ultraviolet. No previous cw Doppler-free measurements have been reported at wavelenghts below 294.5 nm     

A rubidium-stabilized ring-cavity resonator for optical frequency metrology: precise measurement of the D1 line in 133Cs

We have developed a ring-cavity resonator that can be used to measure the absolute frequencies of optical transitions with an uncertainty below 40 kHz. The length of the resonator is calibrated against a reference laser locked to the D₂ line of ⁸⁷Rb, the frequency of which is known with 6 kHz accuracy. We demonstrate the power of this technique by measuring the absolute frequencies of various hyperfine transitions in the D₁ line of ¹³³Cs. Our results agree with earlier measurements using the frequency-comb technique, and have similar accuracy. Measurement of the D₁-line frequency could lead to a more precise determination of the fine-structure constant. We also report a precise value of A=291.918(8) MHz for the hyperfine constant in the 6P_1/2 state.     

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.     

Highly excited,normally inaccessible vibrational levels by sub-doppler modulated gain spectroscopy: The Na2 A1Σ+u state

Modulated gain spectroscopy is a sensitive, widely applicable, rovibronically state selective, sub-Doppler, triple resonance method for examining excited vibronic levels which are Franck—Condon inaccessible from thermally populated levels of the electronic ground state. A cw optically pumped molecular laser (OPL) prepares a steady-state population in a selected, vibrationally highly excited, rotation-vibration level of the electronic ground state (the lower level of the OPL transition). An intensity-modulated, single frequency dye laser excites part of this intracavity OPL-prepared population to the level of interest, thereby causing an increase in the OPL population inversion density, and, in turn, its output power. As the frequency of the dye laser is scanned, resonances are selectively detected by the appearance of modulation on the OPL output power; discrimination against dye laser excitations out of levels unconnected with the OPL is nearly perfect. Sub-Doppler (≈300 MHz FWHM) transitions are observed, thereby extending knowledge of the Na₂A¹Σ⁺_u state from v=44 to 62.     

Two-color polarization spectroscopy of rubidium

We report on two-color, two-photon polarization spectroscopy in a room-temperature rubidium vapor. We use two separate lasers, a strong pump at 780 nm to induce an anisotropy in the atomic polarization and a weak probe at 776 nm to interrogate this anisotropy. The lasers are resonant with the 5²S_1/2 → 5²P_3/2 and 5²P_3/2 → 5²D_5/2 transitions in rubidium, respectively. Finally, we have used our polarization spectroscopy signal as an error signal to lock the 776 nm laser. This modulation-free locking scheme allows us to detune the lock point of the second laser by adjusting the detuning of the laser used for the first transition.     

Injection seeding for single-mode operation in an optically pumped high-power D2O laser

Spectrally narrow, pulsed outputs consisting of almost a single mode have been obtained from an optically-pumped high-power (200kW) D₂O laser by adopting the injection seeding method, where single-mode radiation (seed pulse) from a low-power, compact D₂O laser has been injected into the main D₂O laser. Spectrally narrow outputs with high power having spectral widths as narrow as 5 MHz have been obtained, when the seed pulses with frequency tuned to one longitudinal mode of the main D₂O laser have been injected at a time sufficiently before the lasing of the main laser took place. The experimental results have been compared with those of numerical simulation modified to include the injection field with varying injection times.     

Tunable UV laser photolysis of organometallics with product detection by laser mass spectroscopy: Trimethylaluminum

We use tunable UV laser light in the region 200–320 nm, produced by frequency doubling the output of a dye laser, for the decomposition of organometallic compounds. This method has been applied to TMA, trimethylaluminum Al(CH₃)₃. Only the TMA monomer absorbs UV light for >220 nm. TMA decomposes by one-photon absorption mainly into two channels: aluminum atoms Al plus organic fragments, and aluminummonomethyl AlCH₃ molecules plus organic fragments. The ratio [Al]/[AlCH₃] is wavelength dependent. We present a mechanism to explain the photolysis of trimethyl compounds of group III elements (Al, Ga, In).