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IEEE Photonics Technology Letters

Modulation-Free Frequency Stabilization Based on Polarization-Split Sagnac Loop

Fang Wei, Dijun Chen, Yanguang Sun, Zujie Fang, Haiwen Cai, Ronghui Qu

Published May 1, 2013• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A novel frequency stabilization method for external cavity diode lasers by using an all-pass polarization-split Sagnac loop is proposed. This scheme uses a quarter waveplate to convert the incident beam to a circularly polarized beam, and a polarization beam splitter for the input and output of the Sagnac loop. The two beams with perpendicular polarizations counter-propagate in the loop and experience different absorption of the Rb cell; therefore, the Sagnac loop output beam is converted into elliptical polarization. The dispersion phase shift induced by Rb saturation absorption can be obtained by balanced polarization-divided detection of the Sagnac loop output beam. The experimental results showed the feasibility and merits of the new method. This scheme is simple, robust, low-cost, and has potential applications in atomic physics experiments.

DOI
10.1109/lpt.2013.2259475

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A novel frequency stabilization method for external cavity diode lasers by using an all-pass polarization-split Sagnac loop is proposed. This scheme uses a quarter waveplate to convert the incident beam to a circularly polarized beam, and a polarization beam splitter for the input and output of the Sagnac loop. The two beams with perpendicular polarizations counter-propagate in the loop and experience different absorption of the Rb cell; therefore, the Sagnac loop output beam is converted into elliptical polarization. The dispersion phase shift induced by Rb saturation absorption can be obtained by balanced polarization-divided detection of the Sagnac loop output beam. The experimental results showed the feasibility and merits of the new method. This scheme is simple, robust, low-cost, and has potential applications in atomic physics experiments.
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.
Zeeman split takes place for the hyperfine level structure of neutral atoms where magnetic field exists. In addition, being excited by right circularly polarized light and left circularly polarized light, atoms obey different transition rules. So, the absorption peak between the hyperfine Zeeman level shifts with respect to the absorption peak without magnetic field. Accordingly, the authors demonstrated a kind of simple and flexible method to stabilize the frequency of diode laser. The linewidth of diode laser was reduced to less than 1 MHz using this method. Through analyzing the experiment results, the authors found that when the sum of both shifts of the hyperfine level of atoms excited by right circularly polarized light and left circularly polarized light was equal to the FWHM (Full Width at Half Maximum) of the saturated absorption peak, the laser frequency was stabilized best.
The stabilizing and shifting of laser frequency are very important for the interaction between the laser and atoms. The modulation transfer spectroscopy for the 87 Rb atom with D2 line transition F = 2 → F′ = 3 is used for stabilizing and shifting the frequency of the external cavity grating feedback diode laser. The resonant phase modulator with electro—optical effect is used to generate frequency sideband to lock the laser frequency. In the locking scheme, circularly polarized pump- and probe-beams are used. By optimizing the temperature of the vapor, the pump- and probe-beam intensity, the laser linewidth of 280 kHz is obtained. Furthermore, the magnetic field generated by a solenoid is added into the system. Therefore the system can achieve the frequency locking at any point in a range of hundreds of megahertz frequency shifting with very low power loss.
We describe a balanced heterodyne detection method for a Sagnac interferometer that uses a polarization-dependent beam splitter. The signal and the local oscillator are orthogonally polarized components of a single laser beam, permitting the detection of the signal by subtraction of two photocurrents produced in appropriate polarization projections. Using this scheme, we experimentally demonstrate a phase measurement with a sensitivity of 9x10(-10) rad/ radicalHz. The measurement is robust in the presence of laser frequency noise, as a result of preserving the common-path nature of the Sagnac interferometer, and of laser-amplitude noise, as a result of balanced detection.
The laser frequency stability locked to the D 2 transition of 85 Rb at 780 nm using a Doppler-free Sagnac-loop stabilization scheme has been improved. In a previous work [ J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 40 , 667 ( 2023 ) JOBPDE 0740-3224 10.1364/JOSAB.482223 ], changes in birefringence at the absorption cell windows, influenced by the cell temperature, and in the rubidium vapor, affected by magnetic field fluctuations, significantly influenced the laser frequency stability. By aligning the polarization, the short-term stability (<10s) of the locked laser frequency was improved; however, the long-term stability remained unaffected. We attribute this long-term stability to temperature-induced changes in the optical path length of the wave plates. By removing the wave plates from the setup, the long-term stability has been successfully improved.
A novel and simple method to realize polarization gradient cooling (PGC) is reported. The stabilizing, shifting and rapid tuning of the frequency of the external cavity diode laser is realized by using the Zeeman-effect-assisted Doppler-free saturated absorption technique. Based on this convenient technique, 87 Rb cold atoms are captured from room-temperature background vapor in the magneto-optical trap (MOT). Meanwhile, the steady-state number, the density and the lifetime of atoms in the MOT are measured. Subsequently, a frequency-fast-varying circuit is designed to realize PGC, which is demonstrated effectively and reliably in experiments. The temperature of the cold atom cloud is measured by two different methods, which coincide with each other.