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Applied Optics

Temperature-insensitive laser frequency stabilization with magnetic tuning

Lucas Willis, M. J. Lim

Published Apr 24, 2008• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have implemented a tunable laser frequency lock with a wide recapture range and low sensitivity to temperature fluctuation, based on electronically power-normalized Doppler-broadened absorption spectra. The method requires no frequency modulation. A distributed-feedback diode laser locked to this system exhibits submegahertz stability over many hours. It has been used to magneto-optically trap rubidium atoms for a full day.

DOI
10.1364/ao.47.002312

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We have implemented a tunable laser frequency lock with a wide recapture range and low sensitivity to temperature fluctuation, based on electronically power-normalized Doppler-broadened absorption spectra. The method requires no frequency modulation. A distributed-feedback diode laser locked to this system exhibits submegahertz stability over many hours. It has been used to magneto-optically trap rubidium atoms for a full day.
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 a frequency stabilization technique of a diode laser in a Doppler-free atomic transition used for obtaining the magneto-optical trapping of Rb atoms. This technique, based on side locking to an atomic transition using a servo controller, is very simple and can be implemented straightforwardly to lock the laser at the red detuned frequency position required for laser cooling experiments. The number of trapped atoms and the temperature of the cold cloud have been determined. The effect of trapping the magnetic field on the cloud radius has also been analyzed.
A robust, compact, highly accurate rubidium optical frequency standard module was developed to overcome the delicate performance of conventional frequency stabilized lasers. A frequency doubled 1560 nm distributed feedback diode laser locked to a rubidium D(2) saturated absorption line without using an optical amplifier was demonstrated, and dithering-free optical output was obtained. In addition, the sensitivity of the developed optical frequency standard to magnetic fields was investigated. We confirmed that the influence of the magnetic fields on the optical frequency standard can be almost negligible when using appropriate magnetic-shield films. As a result, the magnetic-field-insensitive optical frequency standard, which can be embedded in optical systems, exhibiting uncertainty less than at least 100 kHz, was successfully realized for the first time to the best of our knowledge.
We describe an inexpensive lock-in amplifier that can be built using discrete off-the-shelf RF components and home-built analog circuits. This lock-in has been used in a feedback loop to lock the frequency of a laser to an atomic transition. The frequency stability was tested by trapping rubidium atoms. The feedback loop involves obtaining a modulated saturated absorption signal from a vapor cell using an acousto-optic modulator to modulate the laser frequency. The absorption signal is sent to the lock-in to generate an error signal, proportional to the first derivative of the absorption, which is fed back to the laser to complete the feedback loop. We also demonstrate a simplified optical setup for viewing the saturated absorption spectrum. In this case, the signal consists of narrow saturated absorption spectra riding on top of a Doppler-broadened pedestal. We show that it is possible to greatly reduce the effect of this background and lock the laser to the atomic resonance by modifying the home-built lock-in to generate an error signal proportional to the third derivative of the absorption. The results of this work can be adapted for advanced undergraduate laboratory work.PACS Nos.: 01.50Pa, 07.50.–e, 42.62Fi, 42.60Fc
A sub-MHz frequency stability of the laser is crucial in the quantum-atom experiment where precise atomic transition is required for control and manipulation of atom like in the atom quantum computing. In this work, we have built the frequency stabilization system for the lasers used in our cold Rubidium atom experiment in the magneto-optical trap (MOT) and the optical tweezers. We utilized a Rubidium vapour glass cell as a frequency reference, which provides atomically absolute reference point with low complexity setup. By mean of the absorption of the laser beam by the Rubidium vapour, the Doppler-free saturated absorption (DFSA) experiment was setup to produce the D2 line spectra. The acousto-optic modulator (AOM) was used to sinusoidally dither the laser frequency and consequently the resonance peaks in the spectra. Detailing in this work, the AOM sinusoidal dithering and the dithered DFSA signal had orthogonality and were processed together to produce the error signal used to stabilize the laser frequency to the resonant peak. This frequency stabilization system achieved the frequency standard deviation below 0.75 MHz over 200 minutes period. The system also allowed for stabilized frequency tunability over a range of 55-60 MHz about the target resonance peak. This performance is significant for stabilizing the lasers in the MOT experiment and related quantum-atom research.
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.