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Optics Letters

Two-color rubidium fiber frequency standard

Christopher Perrella, P. S. Light, James D. Anstie, Fred N. Baynes, Fetah Benabid, Andre Nicholas Luiten

Published Jun 10, 2013• 17 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate an optical frequency standard based on rubidium vapor loaded within a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. We use the 5S(1/2)→5D(5/2) two-photon transition, excited with two lasers at 780 and 776 nm. The sum-frequency of these lasers is stabilized to this transition using modulation transfer spectroscopy, demonstrating a fractional frequency stability of 9.8×10(-12) at 1 s. The current performance limitations are presented, along with a path to improving the performance by an order of magnitude. This technique will deliver a compact, robust standard with potential applications in commercial and industrial environments.

DOI
10.1364/ol.38.002122

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Joint Conference of the European Frequency and Time Forum and IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (EFTF/IFCS)•May 1, 2014•0 citations
We demonstrate an optical frequency standard based on rubidium vapor loaded within a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. We use the 5S(1/2)→5D(5/2) two-photon transition, excited with two lasers at 780 and 776 nm. The sum-frequency of these lasers is stabilized to this transition using modulation transfer spectroscopy, demonstrating a fractional frequency stability of 9.8×10(-12) at 1 s. The current performance limitations are presented, along with a path to improving the performance by an order of magnitude. This technique will deliver a compact, robust standard with potential applications in commercial and industrial environments.
We have constructed a compact and robust optical frequency standard based around iodine vapor loaded into the core of a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF). A 532 nm laser was frequency locked to one hyperfine component of the R(56) 32-0 (127)I(2) transition using modulation transfer spectroscopy. The stabilized laser demonstrated a frequency stability of 2.3×10(-12) at 1 s, almost an order of magnitude better than previously reported for a laser stabilized to a gas-filled HC-PCF. This limit is set by the shot noise in the detection system. We present a discussion of the current limitations to the performance and a route to improve the performance by more than an order of magnitude.
Rubidium two-photon frequency standards are emerging as powerful contenders for compact, durable devices with exceptional stability. To date, the field has focused on single-color excitation; here, we demonstrate the key advantages of a two-color excitation of a two-photon optical frequency standard based on the $5{S}_{1/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}5{D}_{5/2}$ transition of rubidium-87 using driving fields at 780 and 776 nm. Using the 5P3/25{P}_{3/2}5P3/2​ intermediate state to resonantly enhance the transition, we show that frequency stabilities comparable to rubidium single-color two-photon frequency standards can be attained, notably with approximately tenfold lower optical power and tenfold lower rubidium vapor density. Optimization of the detuning from the 5P3/25{P}_{3/2}5P3/2​ intermediate state and of the optical powers of the driving lasers has a dramatic effect on the frequency stability, achieving the best short-term stability of any two-photon rubidium frequency standard to date: $6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}14}$ at $\ensuremath{\tau}=1$ s. We demonstrate that this level of performance is compatible with a compact geometry by fully self-referencing the frequency standard using an integrated fiber frequency comb to simultaneously stabilize the 780-nm laser's detuning from the 5P3/25{P}_{3/2}5P3/2​ intermediate state, producing a frequency-stable microwave output. A comprehensive noise characterization underpins our observations of this two-color frequency standard, explaining the measured stability and showing that this frequency standard is initially shot-noise limited before becoming limited by light shifts in the long term. This work represents a major advance toward a low size, weight, and power frequency standard based on two-color excitation.
Improvements in the power level of sources near 1550 nm and in the efficiency of waveguide frequency doublers enabled us to lock a frequency-doubled source directly to the 5S(1/2) ? 5D(5/2) two-photon transitions near 778 nm. We obtained a sufficiently powerful second-harmonic signal, exceeding 2 mW, by doubling an external-cavity diode laser that was amplified by an erbium-doped fiber amplifier in a periodically poled LiNbO(3) channel waveguide. Our experimental scheme can be used for realizing compact, high-performance frequency standards near 1550 nm for fiber-optic communication and sensing applications.
We have built an optical-frequency standard based on interrogating iodine vapor that has been trapped within the hollow core of a hermetically sealed kagome-lattice photonic crystal fiber. A frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser locked to a hyperfine component of the P(142)37-0 I2127 transition using modulation transfer spectroscopy shows a frequency stability of 3×10−11 at 100 s. We discuss the impediments in integrating this all-fiber standard into a fully optical-fiber-based system, and suggest approaches that could improve performance of the frequency standard substantially.