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Frontiers of Physics

Doppler-free spectroscopy of rubidium atoms driven by a control laser

Zheng Tan, Xiuchao Zhao, Yong Cheng, Xianping Sun, Jun Luo, Xin Hua Zhou, Jin Wang, Mingsheng Zhan

Published Jul 7, 2011• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A scheme of Doppler-free spectroscopy is experimentally demonstrated with a co-propagating control laser locking to an atomic hyperfine transition, and the differential transmission of the probe and the reference laser is detected. Crossover resonances are eliminated by selecting the class of atoms with zero velocity in the direction of beam propagation. In addition, the sub-Doppler spectrum experiences optical gain compared to the conventional saturated-absorption spectrum as a result of optical pumping.

DOI
10.1007/s11467-011-0192-1

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A scheme of Doppler-free spectroscopy is experimentally demonstrated with a co-propagating control laser locking to an atomic hyperfine transition, and the differential transmission of the probe and the reference laser is detected. Crossover resonances are eliminated by selecting the class of atoms with zero velocity in the direction of beam propagation. In addition, the sub-Doppler spectrum experiences optical gain compared to the conventional saturated-absorption spectrum as a result of optical pumping.
We propose and demonstrate pump-probe spectroscopy of rubidium absorption that reveals the sub-Doppler hyperfine structure of the ${}^{5}{\mathrm{S}}_{1/2}\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}{}^{5}{\mathrm{P}}_{3/2}$ (D2{\mathrm{D}}_{2}D2​) transitions. The counterpropagating pump and probe lasers are independently tunable in frequency, with the probe operating at the single-photon level. The two-dimensional spectrum measured as the laser frequencies are scanned shows fluorescence, Doppler-broadened absorption dips, and sub-Doppler features. The detuning between the pump and probe lasers allows compensation of the Doppler shift for all atomic velocities in the room-temperature vapor, meaning we observe sub-Doppler features for all atoms in the beam. We detail a theoretical model of the system that incorporates fluorescence, saturation effects, and optical pumping and compare this with the measured spectrum, finding a mean absolute percentage error of 3.11%. This high level of agreement allows us to extract the number density and temperature of the Rb\mathrm{Rb}Rb vapor from the two-dimensional spectrum. In the future this technique could be used as an atomic frequency standard for calibrating and characterising a single-photon or low-light-level source.
We have shown earlier that hyperfine spectroscopy in a vapor cell using co-propagating pump-probe beams has many advantages over the usual technique of saturated-absorption spectroscopy using counter-propagating beams. The main advantages are the absence of crossover resonances, the appearance of the signal on a flat (Doppler-free) background, and the higher signal-to-noise ratio of the primary peaks. Interaction with non-zero-velocity atoms causes additional peaks, but only one of them appears within the primary spectrum. We first illustrate the advantages of this technique for high-resolution spectroscopy by studying the D2D_2D2​ line of Rb. We then use an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) for frequency calibration to make precise hyperfine-interval measurements in the first excited P3/2P_{3/2}P3/2​ state of 85,87^{85,87}85,87Rb and 133^{133}133Cs.
The goal of this experiment was to measure the hyperfine energy splittings of the ground to first excited state transitions in rubidium using saturated absorption spectroscopy. Using this technique, we measured these transition energy spectra by taking the difference of two photodiode outputs due to multiple beams of a single laser scanned over a range of frequencies and shone through a cell of Rb vapor. When the laser frequency was resonant with an atomic transition, photons of those frequencies were absorbed, leaving a dip in intensity of the beam measured at the photodiode. One of the two laser beams had its excitations saturated by a more intense, counter-propagating pump beam from the same laser. The pump beam saturated the absorption of the velocity equal zero atoms that the counter-propagating probe beam could have also interacted with due to no Doppler shift. At these frequencies the probe beam experienced less absorption that was measured by a photodiode. The photodiode output was calibrated to the change in frequency of the scanned laser using a Fabry-Pérot interferometer. The output of this interferometer served as a reference for how the laser frequency changed. Final results for the 87Rb F=1 spectrum accounted for the largest error with a maximum of 12.2% deviation from accepted energy spacing values due in part to systematic error. Other spectra measurements were in better agreement, possessing error ranging from 2.1% to 10.1% and some agreeing with accepted values to within our uncertainty.
In this paper the saturation spectra of rubidium vapour at room temperature, obtained with overlapped co-propagating laser beams, were examined. Unlike the standard saturation spectroscopy, here the transmission of the pump laser beam was detected. The pump laser was locked to an atomic transition of the D2 line, while the probe laser frequency was scanned in a wide frequency range. The pump and probe beams had approximately the same intensities; thus the probe laser can saturate transitions and contribute to optical pumping. This, together with Doppler broadening, leads to rich pump transmission spectra, with many lines appearing due to the interaction of lasers with atoms in different velocity groups. The advantages of this method are well-resolved structures and appearance of spectral lines on a flat, Doppler-free background. Agreement between experimental and theoretical results shows the usefulness of this simple model, based on the rate equations, for identification of lines and determination of relative contribution to the observed line intensity from atoms with different velocities. Theoretical spectra are a useful tool for the calibration of experimental spectra obtained by a nonlinear dependence of the laser frequency on the voltage applied to the piezo used for the laser diode frequency scanning.
Laser spectroscopy experiments are reported on rubidium atoms by using two or three external cavity diode lasers to study multiple resonance transitions in Λ- and V-type systems as well as on (Λ+V)-type system. Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) peaks having sub-natural line-widths are found on the Doppler broadened transmission backgrounds with velocity selective enhanced absorption dips. In the presence of a pump laser, probe spectrum shows enhancement of EIT signal by tuning the control laser frequency when the Λ- and V-type EIT signals are made to overlap. Theoretical analysis is carried out by solving the optical Bloch equations for five-level atomic model under Λ configuration. With the numerically simulated spectra, variation of EIT transmission peak with ground state decay rate and excited state spontaneous decay rate are investigated. Effect of pump Rabi frequency on the transmission peak is also shown.
In this paper, we describe two complementary nonlinear spectroscopy methods which both allow one to achieve Doppler-free spectra of atomic gases. First, saturated absorption spectroscopy is used to investigate the structure of the 5S 1/2 → 5P 3/2 transition in rubidium. Using a slightly modified experimental setup, Doppler-free two-photon absorption spectroscopy is then performed on the 5S 1/2 → 5D 5/2 transition in rubidium, leading to accurate measurements of the hyperfine structure of the 5D 5/2 energy level. In addition, electric dipole selection rules of the two-photon transition are investigated, first by modifying the polarization of the excitation laser, and then by measuring two-photon absorption spectra when a magnetic field is applied close to the rubidium vapour. All experiments are performed with the same grating-feedback laser diode, providing an opportunity to compare different high-resolution spectroscopy methods using a single experimental setup. Such experiments may acquaint students with quantum mechanics selection rules, atomic spectra and Zeeman effect.