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Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference

High-resolution spectroscopy of laser-cooled rubidium in a vapor-cell trap

Sarah L. Gilbert

Published May 2, 1993• 4 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

A goal of the wavelength-standard research at NIST is to produce a primary wavelength standard in the 1.5-µm region with a linewidth and reproducibility' of better than 1 MHz. Accurate wavelength standards in this region are important for many of the proposed optical-communication schemes involving frequency-division multiplexing and coherent detection.

Related papers

Frequency stabilization of a fiber laser to rubidium: a high-accuracy 1.53-μm wavelength standard

Sarah L. Gilbert

Spectroscopy of the rubidium 5P3/2 yields 4D5/2 transition near 1.529 micrometers has been performed using a single-longitudinal-mode erbium-doped fiber laser. Rubidium atoms were laser-cooled and confined in a vapor-cell Zeeman optical trap. This produced a dense sample of cold atoms and reduce the Doppler broadening of the transition to less than the natural linewidth. Transition linewidths of 10 MHz were observed on the 5P3/2 yields 4D5/2 transition and the fiber laser was actively stabilized to the 5P3/2, F equals 3 yields 4D5/2, F' equals 3 line of 87Rb.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Apr 30, 1993•10 citations

Lasers for a Trapped Hg+ Optical Frequency Standard | NIST

Brent C. Young, Dana J. Berkeland, Flávio C. Cruz +3 more

•Jul 6, 1998•0 citations

Proposed Laser-Cooled Rubidium Local Oscillator at NIST

Steven R. Jefferts, D. Kujundzic, Thomas P. Heavner +1 more

•Jan 1, 2001•1 citation

Spectroscopy of Single Trapped Ions and Application to Frequency Standards

HERBERT WALTHER

Single ions trapped and laser cooled provide ideal objects for high resolution spectroscopy and frequency standards. For the latter purpose we are investigating the 5s2 1S0 → 5s5p 3P0 transition of In+. With a natural linewidth of only 1.1 Hz this resonance offers very high resolution and is highly immune to frequency shifts due to external electromagnetic fields, because it connects two levels with vanishing electronic magnetic momenta [1]. The wavelength of this clock transition is 236.5 nm and is technically very convenient, since it coincides with the fourth harmonic of the 946 nm Nd:YAG laser line. So this intrinsically frequency stable solid-state laser can be used to excite the transition [2]. For laser cooling and fluorescence detection of the indium ion the 5s2 1So -> 5s5p 3P1 transition at 230.6 nm can be employed. The use of the relatively narrow intercombination line for laser cooling allows us to study optical sideband cooling in the strong binding regime, where the oscillation frequencies of the ion in the trap (around 1 MHz) are larger than the optical linewidth of 360 kHz. In this parameter range laser cooling is possible to the quantum ground state of the vibrational motion in the trap corresponding to a temperature of roughly 100 μK. The same low temperature was obtained with sideband cooling of a small Coulomb crystal consisting of two ions, creating an interesting new quantum few-particle system.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jan 1, 1998•0 citations

Characteristics of wavelength standard system based on two-photon transition in 87Rb atoms

Peixuan Song, Yali Liu, Wei Li

Optical wavelength standards, based on the optical transitions of atoms or molecules, provide ultra-high precision frequency references and are the core technology of next-generation optical clocks. Their stability far exceeds that of the microwave frequency range, laying the foundation for precision metrology and cutting-edge scientific research. The wavelength standard device based on the 5S1/2-5D3/2 hyperfine level two-photon transition of 87Rb atoms exhibits significant advantages such as no Doppler broadening, high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and potential for miniaturization and chip integration, showing important application potential in precision measurement fields like rubidium atomic clocks and optical communication. In this paper, an experimental setup for two-photon transition was constructed using an external cavity diode laser (ECDL), achieving stable locking of the 778 nm wavelength by modulating the laser current. The effects of the temperature and length of the atomic vapor cell on the blue fluorescence linewidth, SNR, and frequency stability were systematically studied, further optimizing the system. By using an atomic vapor cell designed at Brewster's angle, optical reflection loss was effectively reduced, compensating for the impact of shortened optical path on frequency stability in miniaturized atomic vapor cells. This provides new research directions and performance enhancement solutions for the miniaturization and chip integration of two-photon transition systems. In the improved system, a Brewster-angle glass vapor cell with a length of 30 mm was used and heated to 110°C, achieving a linewidth of 1.69 MHz full width at half maximum (FWHM) and a SNR of 20 dB. The system demonstrated a instability of 9.86×10-11 over a 1-second averaging time and a minimum instability of 5.79×10-11 over a 5.7-second averaging time. This achievement provides key technological support for the practical application of the next generation of miniaturized optical atomic clocks, with the potential for widespread use in portable metrology equipment and space science through integrated design and noise suppression optimization in the future.

Applied Optics and Photonics China (AOPC)•Oct 28, 2025•0 citations

Frequency stability of an optical frequency standard at 192.6 THz based on a two-photon transition of rubidium atoms

M. Poulin, Christine Latrasse, Driss Touahri +1 more

Optics Communications•Jun 1, 2002•42 citations
A goal of the wavelength-standard research at NIST is to produce a primary wavelength standard in the 1.5-µm region with a linewidth and reproducibility' of better than 1 MHz. Accurate wavelength standards in this region are important for many of the proposed optical-communication schemes involving frequency-division multiplexing and coherent detection.
Spectroscopy of the rubidium 5P3/2 yields 4D5/2 transition near 1.529 micrometers has been performed using a single-longitudinal-mode erbium-doped fiber laser. Rubidium atoms were laser-cooled and confined in a vapor-cell Zeeman optical trap. This produced a dense sample of cold atoms and reduce the Doppler broadening of the transition to less than the natural linewidth. Transition linewidths of 10 MHz were observed on the 5P3/2 yields 4D5/2 transition and the fiber laser was actively stabilized to the 5P3/2, F equals 3 yields 4D5/2, F' equals 3 line of 87Rb.
Single ions trapped and laser cooled provide ideal objects for high resolution spectroscopy and frequency standards. For the latter purpose we are investigating the 5s2 1S0 → 5s5p 3P0 transition of In+. With a natural linewidth of only 1.1 Hz this resonance offers very high resolution and is highly immune to frequency shifts due to external electromagnetic fields, because it connects two levels with vanishing electronic magnetic momenta [1]. The wavelength of this clock transition is 236.5 nm and is technically very convenient, since it coincides with the fourth harmonic of the 946 nm Nd:YAG laser line. So this intrinsically frequency stable solid-state laser can be used to excite the transition [2]. For laser cooling and fluorescence detection of the indium ion the 5s2 1So -> 5s5p 3P1 transition at 230.6 nm can be employed. The use of the relatively narrow intercombination line for laser cooling allows us to study optical sideband cooling in the strong binding regime, where the oscillation frequencies of the ion in the trap (around 1 MHz) are larger than the optical linewidth of 360 kHz. In this parameter range laser cooling is possible to the quantum ground state of the vibrational motion in the trap corresponding to a temperature of roughly 100 μK. The same low temperature was obtained with sideband cooling of a small Coulomb crystal consisting of two ions, creating an interesting new quantum few-particle system.
Optical wavelength standards, based on the optical transitions of atoms or molecules, provide ultra-high precision frequency references and are the core technology of next-generation optical clocks. Their stability far exceeds that of the microwave frequency range, laying the foundation for precision metrology and cutting-edge scientific research. The wavelength standard device based on the 5S1/2-5D3/2 hyperfine level two-photon transition of 87Rb atoms exhibits significant advantages such as no Doppler broadening, high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and potential for miniaturization and chip integration, showing important application potential in precision measurement fields like rubidium atomic clocks and optical communication. In this paper, an experimental setup for two-photon transition was constructed using an external cavity diode laser (ECDL), achieving stable locking of the 778 nm wavelength by modulating the laser current. The effects of the temperature and length of the atomic vapor cell on the blue fluorescence linewidth, SNR, and frequency stability were systematically studied, further optimizing the system. By using an atomic vapor cell designed at Brewster's angle, optical reflection loss was effectively reduced, compensating for the impact of shortened optical path on frequency stability in miniaturized atomic vapor cells. This provides new research directions and performance enhancement solutions for the miniaturization and chip integration of two-photon transition systems. In the improved system, a Brewster-angle glass vapor cell with a length of 30 mm was used and heated to 110°C, achieving a linewidth of 1.69 MHz full width at half maximum (FWHM) and a SNR of 20 dB. The system demonstrated a instability of 9.86×10-11 over a 1-second averaging time and a minimum instability of 5.79×10-11 over a 5.7-second averaging time. This achievement provides key technological support for the practical application of the next generation of miniaturized optical atomic clocks, with the potential for widespread use in portable metrology equipment and space science through integrated design and noise suppression optimization in the future.