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arXiv:2007.00768

Stabilization of $866$ nm laser with Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique for quantum manipulation of Ca+ ion in Paul trap

Siddhant Singh

Published Jun 25, 2020• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

This article provides an introduction to one of the most efficient laser stabilization techniques - the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) method. The aim of the experiment is to build the PDH stabilization apparatus from scratch. I describe all the necessary theoretical treatment to formulate the technique and then describe it as I have experimentally implemented in the lab. All major sources of noise are discussed and noise tackling methods are implemented. All the equipments used are also described in detail for their principle and working.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2007.00768

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Stabilization of 866866866 nm laser with Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique for quantum manipulation of Ca+ ion in Paul trap
This article provides an introduction to one of the most efficient laser stabilization techniques - the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) method. The aim of the experiment is to build the PDH stabilization apparatus from scratch. I describe all the necessary theoretical treatment to formulate the technique and then describe it as I have experimentally implemented in the lab. All major sources of noise are discussed and noise tackling methods are implemented. All the equipments used are also described in detail for their principle and working.
We have proposed an artificial modulation-free Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) method for laser frequency stabilization and demonstrated it via two-color polarization spectroscopy of Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonance in a room-temperature rubidium vapor. Due to the unique error signal profile, the conventional PDH method owns a large capture range in laser frequency locking. Here we manually construct a PDH error signal via a linear combination of polarization spectroscopies of the Rydberg EIT resonances without and with a magnetic field applied. The artificial modulation-free PDH error signal owns a subnatural linewidth dispersion curve as well as a large capture range with which we successfully stabilize the laser to an absolute atomic frequency reference in a long running time, immune to environmental fluctuation and even manmade impulse perturbation. This method can provide an absolute frequency reference based on atomic transition while keeping similar locking ability to provide corrections for frequency fluctuations over a broad bandwidth as the conventional PDH.
Our aim was to understand the physics of laser isotope separation and to study the possibility to scale the method to a large scale production. After achieving first results the program was closed and one of us (Ignacio E Olivares) moved to the Universidad de Santiago de Chile starting a project of laser cooling and trapping of rubidium atoms. Although the equipment was totally new and adapted to a different wavelength many techniques that we obtained from laser isotope separation were useful for the magneto optical trap. We also continue studying the absorption of lithium and laser stabilization techniques such as the Pound–Drever–Hall method. We considered that a key experimental technique for lithium isotope separation and for laser cooling is the Pound–Drever–Hall method for laser stabilization. This technique of laser stabilization is discussed in this book.
As opposed to feedback, feedforward methods bring new opportunities to suppress high-frequency laser phase noise, but their performance is more susceptible to environmental perturbations, hindering broad application. Tackling the key factors for long-term stability of feedforward based on Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) detection, the authors construct a compact circuit to adaptively control feedforward gain in response to power variations of cavity transmission. This design achieves robust suppression beyond 40 dB for megahertz noise frequencies. The compact scheme may promote the general use of reliable PDH feedforward in simple, inexpensive lasers for precision quantum control and metrology.
Scaling quantum computers to large sizes requires the implementation of many parallel qubit readouts. Here we present an ultrastable superconducting-qubit readout method using the multi-tone self-phase-referenced Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique, originally developed for use with optical cavities. In this work, we benchmark PDH readout of a single transmon qubit, using room-temperature heterodyne detection of all tones to reconstruct the PDH signal. We demonstrate that PDH qubit readout is insensitive to microwave phase drift, displaying 0.73∘0.73^\circ0.73∘ phase stability over 2 hours, and capable of single-shot readout in the presence of phase errors exceeding the phase shift induced by the qubit state. We show that the PDH sideband tones do not cause unwanted measurement-induced state transitions for a transmon qubit, leading to a potential signal enhancement of at least 141414~dB.
Suppressing high-frequency laser phase noise, particularly at frequencies near and beyond typical feedback bandwidths of a few MHz, is a critical yet challenging task in many advanced applications. Feedforward-based methods generally outperform feedback in high-frequency range, but their performances are more susceptible to perturbations. In this work, we focus on the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH)-feedforward method we demonstrated recently [Yu-Xin Chao et al., Optica 11(7), 945-950 (2024)] and analyze the factors that affect its long-term stability. By constructing a simple circuit allowing for adaptive control of the feedforward gain in response to power fluctuations of cavity transmission, we demonstrate a robust ≥40\geq 40≥40 dB suppression of laser phase noise around 2 MHz and a noise suppression bandwidth up to 50 MHz. In comparison, when using normal PDH feedback, robust noise suppression of over 40 dB can only occur for frequencies below tens of kHz in most setups. Our findings may pave the way for general usage of PDH feedforward and allow for simple construction of low-noise lasers for precise quantum controls and precision metrology.
A system for exciting Rubidium atoms to Rydberg states has been constructed to study the interactions between them and metal surfaces. This thesis describes a method to reach the f Rydberg series using diode lasers. Since the diode lasers need to be frequency stabilized for this excitation, a transfer cavity stabilization method was implemented using the Pound-Drever-Hall technique. \nTo obtain the necessary frequency modulation the diode laser was current modulated at ∼ 6 MHz. A noise cancellation circuit was used to suppress detection of the accompanying residual intensity modulation.