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Physical Review A

Laser-frequency locking using light-pressure-induced spectroscopy in a calcium beam

A. K. Mollema, L. W. Wansbeek, Lorenz Willmann, Klaus Peter Jungmann, Rob G. E. Timmermans, R. Hoekstra

Published Apr 15, 2008• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate a spectroscopy method that can be applied in an atomic beam, light-pressure-induced spectroscopy (LiPS). A simple pump and probe experiment yields a dispersivelike spectroscopy signal that can be utilized for laser frequency stabilization. The underlying principles are discussed and compared to Monte Carlo simulations. The shape of the dispersive signal is well described by the simulations. The zero crossing point of the signal is redshifted with respect to the atomic resonance by $\ensuremath{\sim}3\text{ }\text{MHz}$ (one-tenth of the natural linewidth) and depends slightly on the laser intensity. The shift of the zero crossing is determined by laser-induced fluorescence and compared with results of Doppler-free saturation spectroscopy. To check the potential of LiPS for frequency stabilization purposes, it was used to frequency-stabilize the laser for 400 min. Frequency fluctuations of only 0.12 MHz were measured.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.77.043409

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We demonstrate a spectroscopy method that can be applied in an atomic beam, light-pressure-induced spectroscopy (LiPS). A simple pump and probe experiment yields a dispersivelike spectroscopy signal that can be utilized for laser frequency stabilization. The underlying principles are discussed and compared to Monte Carlo simulations. The shape of the dispersive signal is well described by the simulations. The zero crossing point of the signal is redshifted with respect to the atomic resonance by \ensuremath∼3 MHz\ensuremath{\sim}3\text{ }\text{MHz}\ensuremath∼3 MHz (one-tenth of the natural linewidth) and depends slightly on the laser intensity. The shift of the zero crossing is determined by laser-induced fluorescence and compared with results of Doppler-free saturation spectroscopy. To check the potential of LiPS for frequency stabilization purposes, it was used to frequency-stabilize the laser for 400 min. Frequency fluctuations of only 0.12 MHz were measured.
We demonstrate a simple technique to lock the frequency of a laser to an atomic transition with a new technique of subnatural linewidth spectroscopy. The coupled rubidium system exhibits an enhanced absorption spectrum of the probe beam with a subnatural linewidth. Compared with other techniques with an additional laser, our scheme only utilizes a single laser, which will be locked. The observed spectroscopic linewidth is down to about 3.5 MHz. The laser frequency fluctuation is about 226 kHz after locking on. The demonstrated scheme offers a convenient and low-cost technique for laser frequency stabilization and related precision measurements.
We report on a technique for obtaining dispersive saturated absorption features by two pump beams derived from an acousto-optic modulator. One of the beams is frequency shifted by the modulator allowing for a variable frequency offset of the resulting signal. They are used to saturate the atomic transition in the low-density vapour of the lamp. The sensitivity of the technique is sufficient to observe clear signals from isotopes of calcium unresolved by the inhomogeneous broadening and with natural abundances of less than 0.2%. The technique is used for offset locking the frequency of a Ti:Sapphire laser used for laser cooling and trapping of calcium.
Vapour-cell spectroscopy is widely used for the frequency stabilisation of diode lasers relative to specific atomic transitions - a technique essential in cold atom and ion trapping experiments. Two laser beams, tuned to different frequencies, can be overlapped on the same spatial path as an aid to compactness; this method also enhances the resulting spectroscopic signal via optical pumping effects, yielding an increase in the sensitivity of spectroscopically-generated laser stabilisation signals. Doppler-free locking features become visible over a frequency range several hundred MHz wider than for standard saturated absorption spectroscopy. Herein we present the measured Doppler-free spectroscopy signals from an atomic vapour cell as a function of both laser frequencies, showing experimental data that covers the full, 2D parameter space associated with dual-frequency spectroscopy. We consider how dual-frequency spectroscopy could be used for enhanced frequency-stabilisation of one laser, or alternatively to frequency-stabilise two lasers simultaneously, and analyse the likely performance of such stabilisation methods based on our experimental results. We discuss the underlying physical mechanism of the technique and show that a simple rate-equation model successfully predicts the key qualitative features of our results
The utilization of atomic or molecular spectroscopy for frequency locking of single-frequency laser to improve laser frequency stability plays an important role in the experimental investigation of optically pumped atomic magnetometers, atomic clocks, laser cooling and trapping of atoms, etc. We have experimentally demonstrated a technique for frequency stabilization of a single-frequency laser employing the bright state spectroscopy (BSS) with a rubidium atomic vapor cell. By utilizing the counter-propagating dual-frequency 795 nm laser beams with mutually orthogonal linear polarization and a frequency difference of 6.834 GHz, which is equal to the hyperfine splitting of rubidium-87 ground state 5S1/2, an absorption-enhanced signal with narrow linewidth at the center of Doppler-broadened transmission spectroscopy is observed when continuous scanning the laser frequency over rubidium-87 D1 transition. This is the so-called BSS. Amplitude of the absorption-enhanced signal in the BSS is much larger compared with the conventional saturation absorption spectroscopy (SAS). The relationship between linewidth and amplitude of the BSS signal and laser beam intensity has been investigated. This high-contrast absorption-enhanced BSS signal has been employed for the laser frequency stabilization. The experimental results show that the frequency stability is 4.4×10−11 with an integration time of 40 s, near one order of magnitude better than that for using the SAS.
We investigate the coherent pump?probe spectroscopy of a three-level ? system, , in the hyperfine manifold of D2 transition (852?nm) of cesium with particular reference to the sub-Doppler linewidth resonance arising from Aulter?Townes (AT) splitting and the possibility of using it for realizing a scheme for tunable atomic frequency offset locking (AFOL). We discuss here the theoretical framework for a ? system interacting with a coherent pump and probe and use it to describe the process of modulation transfer in the AT and electromagnetically induced transparency regimes. We further employ an experimental scheme consisting of a strong pump and a pair of weak probes to resolve the sub-Doppler linewidth (~8?MHz) AT resonance and study its dependence on pump intensity and detuning. In order to explore the possibility of using such a sub-Doppler linewidth resonance for AFOL, we use its first derivative signal as a frequency discriminator to stabilize the probe laser. The frequency stability of the probe is characterized by means of error signal analysis. This study reveals that while the frequency stability of the AT locked laser is limited by the pump laser, the tuning range of the offset frequency lock can cover the entire Doppler profile and its immediate neighbourhood, thereby providing a simple and cost effective alternative to the external modulator. The study described in this paper contributes to the discussion on the subtle link between dressed state spectroscopy and AFOL, which is relevant for developing a master?slave-type laser system in the domain of coherent photon?atom interaction.
We report on detailed studies of the effect of resonant light pressure on the optical response of an atomic gas to a single monochromatic laser field. In this very elementary situation of laser spectroscopy, the redistribution of atomic velocities that is induced by spontaneous light pressure leads to a novel contribution to the optical dispersion curve of the medium. This light-pressure-induced dispersion phenomenon displays a pronounced nonlinear dependence on the laser intensity. Moreover, for a given intensity, its strength is closely related to the laser beam diameter. As most important feature, this light-pressure-induced dispersion displays an even symmetry with respect to the optical detuning from line center. As a result, the total Doppler-broadened dispersion curve of the gas can become asymmetric, and a significant shift of the dispersion line center can occur. In addition to a detailed theoretical description of the phenomenon, we report on its experimental investigation on the \ensuremath{\lambda}=555.6 nm 1^{1}1S0{\mathit{S}}_{0}S0​${\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}^{3}$P1{\mathit{P}}_{1}P1​ transition in atomic ytterbium vapor with the use of frequency-modulation spectroscopy. The experimental findings are in good quantitative agreement with theoretical predictions.