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Applied Optics

Frequency-stabilized diode laser with the Zeeman shift in an atomic vapor

Kristan L. Corwin, Zheng‐Tian Lu, Carter F. Hand, R. J. Epstein, Carl Wieman

Published May 20, 1998• 384 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate a robust method of stabilizing a diode laser frequency to an atomic transition. This technique employs the Zeeman shift to generate an antisymmetric signal about a Doppler-broadened atomic resonance, and therefore offers a large recapture range as well as high stability. The frequency of a 780-nm diode laser, stabilized to such a signal in Rb, drifted less than 0.5 MHz peak-peak (1 part in 10(9)) in 38 h. This tunable frequency lock can be constructed inexpensively, requires little laser power, rarely loses lock, and can be extended to other wavelengths by use of different atomic species.

DOI
10.1364/ao.37.003295

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Applied Physics Letters•Jun 5, 2006•2 citations
We demonstrate a robust method of stabilizing a diode laser frequency to an atomic transition. This technique employs the Zeeman shift to generate an antisymmetric signal about a Doppler-broadened atomic resonance, and therefore offers a large recapture range as well as high stability. The frequency of a 780-nm diode laser, stabilized to such a signal in Rb, drifted less than 0.5 MHz peak-peak (1 part in 10(9)) in 38 h. This tunable frequency lock can be constructed inexpensively, requires little laser power, rarely loses lock, and can be extended to other wavelengths by use of different atomic species.
We report the frequency stabilization of a diode laser by applying the dichroic-atomic-vapor laser lock (DAVLL) method to a thin Rb vapor cell. A 1-mm-long Rb vapor cell is used to obtain a sub-Doppler spectrum that is required for frequency locking, which is easier than in the case of using a saturated absorption spectrometer. A 794-nm diode laser is tuned to the Rb D 1 line, and sub-Doppler signals are observed by introducing a pumping beam and a probe beam in a perpendicular direction. We obtain error signals by subtracting the signals of σ+ polarized beams from that of σ- polarized beams in the presence of a magnetic field and stabilized the 794 nm diode laser frequency without modulating laser parameters. The stability of the 794-nm diode laser is evaluated using other independently stabilized diode laser.
A robust laser-frequency-locking scheme to atomic transitions is proposed and demonstrated. In this scheme, dispersion of the Zeeman-shifted atoms instead of absorption in the dichroic atomic vapor laser lock (DAVLL) [Appl. Opt.37, 3295 (1998)] is measured and used as an error signal for stabilization feedback. The error signal of the proposed scheme can provide a wide locking range. Experimental demonstration with the transition between 5d 2D3/2 and 6p 2P1/2 of Ba+ is carried out for a grating feedback external-cavity laser diode at 650 nm.
We observed saturated absorption spectra of the 87Rb atom under a magnetic field of several millitesla with a diode laser oscillating at 780 nm. The spectra were compared with the theoretical ones obtained on the basis of Nakayama's four-level model. We numerically computed Zeeman splittings of the 52 P 3/2 excited state of the atom. As the magnetic field increased to 5 mT, the absorption peak of the F=2→F'=3 transition shifted almost linearly up to about 62 MHz. The shift direction was reversed by changing the polarization combination of the pump and probe lasers. The measured frequency stability, when the laser was locked at the absorption peak, was better than σy(τ)= 1 ×10-11τ-1/2 for the sampling time of 0.01 s≤τ≤10 s.
We present a simple method for producing a low-drift atomic frequency reference based upon the Zeeman effect. Our Zeeman Shifted Atomic Reference `ZSAR' is demonstrated to have tens of GHz tuning range, limited only by the strength of the applied field. ZSAR uses Doppler-free laser spectroscopy in a thermal vapor where the vapor is situated in a large, static and controllable magnetic field. We use a heated 85^{85}85Rb vapor cell between a pair of position-adjustable permanent magnets capable of applying magnetic fields up to 1 T. To demonstrate the frequency reference we use a spectral feature from the Zeeman shifted D1 line in 85^{85}85Rb at 795 nm to stabilize a laser to the 7S1/2_{1/2}1/2​ ⟶\longrightarrow⟶ 23P1/2_{1/2}1/2​ transition in atomic cesium, which is detuned by approximately 19 GHz from the unperturbed Rb transition. We place an upper bound on the stability of the technique by measuring a 2.5 MHz RMS frequency difference between the two spectral features over a 24 hour period. This versatile method could be adapted easily for use with other atomic species and the tuning range readily increased by applying larger magnetic fields.
Recently a new type of spectroscopy using Zeeman shift has been developed, which aims for a large recapture range by making a dispersive-like signal obtained from the subtraction of two different circularly polarized Doppler-broadened absorption signals in the presence of a magnetic field (order of 100 G). We would like to propose another method for stabilizing a diode laser frequency onto an atomic frequency with a small tunable range in the presence of small longitudinal magnetic field (order of Gauss). A solid state diode laser is preferred as it is a good light source. Our technique has the advantages of cancellation of frequency fluctuation over side-locking and no need for phase-sensitive detection and frequency modulation over peak-locking. A subtracted SAS signal and the blocking signal are displayed on one photodiode.
We have demonstrated a robust method of tuning and stabilizing a diode laser frequency to the fluorescence peaks of the energy pooling occurred at thermal cesium vapor-glass interface. This technique is based on temperature-dependent shift of the two off-core fluorescence peaks caused by 6P3∕2+6P3∕2→7P(3∕2,1∕2)∕8S1∕2+6S1∕2 energy pooling collisions. We achieved laser linewidth of 1.1MHz and continuous tunability over ±200–600MHz within a temperature range of 360–420K by applying the wavelength modulation technology. Tunable frequency locking in such a wide range was constructed inexpensively with low laser power. It can also be extended to other wavelengths by using different atomic species.