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Applied Physics Letters

An atomic filter laser with a compact Voigt anomalous dispersion optical filter

Zijie Liu, Xiaolei Guan, Xiaomin Qin, Zhiyang Wang, Hangbo Shi, Jia Zhang, Jianxiang Miao, Tiantian Shi, Anhong Dang, Jingbiao Chen

Published Sep 25, 2023• 17 citations

Abstract

The study of atomic physics has been greatly influenced by the development of high-stability diode lasers whose output corresponds to the atomic transition. Recently, an atomic filter laser “Faraday laser” shines on stage, owing to its great robustness to the fluctuation of the diode parameters and potentially higher tolerance to vibration. However, cost reduction and portability require the Faraday laser to have a more compact structure. Here, we report on the development of a promising atomic filter laser—a “Voigt laser”—using a Voigt anomalous dispersion optical filter (VADOF) as the frequency-selective element, which has a structural advantage in miniaturization. The influencing factors toward the VADOF are investigated in detail to produce a parameter set for the best performance of a Voigt laser. In this case, the Voigt laser has great robustness to the fluctuation in the diode current and temperature, where the wavelength fluctuation is ±0.5 pm with the variation of the diode parameters (diode current: 73–150 mA and diode temperature: 12–30 °C). In addition, the wavelength of the Voigt laser fluctuates about ± 0.5 pm for 48-h free-running operation and shows excellent reproducibility without manual adjustment. The laser system developed here provides a stable and reliable laser source for substantially improving existing technologies such as the atomic clock, electromagnetically induced transparency, and laser cooling of atoms.

DOI: 10.1063/5.0161979

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SummaryCompared with Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter, the atom optical filter based on the Voigt effect can generate a stronger and more uniform magnetic field with a compact size of the magnet. The transmission characteristics of the Voigt anomalous dispersion optical filter (VADOF) are further investigated, and a transmission spectrum with ultra-low bandwidth immune to the cell temperature is constructed. Therefore, this optical filter has the potential to perform well in a complex environment, such as outdoor and out space. Importantly, the VADOF could be applied to a diode laser as a frequency-selective element, named "Voigt laser", contributing to better frequency stability.

The transmission spectrum of Voigt anomalous dispersion optical filter (VADOF) corresponds to atomic transition lines and VADOF has a smaller size and simpler structure than Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter (FADOF). We investigate the transmission spectrum of VADOF under different magnetic fields, temperatures and laser intensities. The results show that as the magnetic field increases, the transmittance of VAODF transmission spectrum decreases. At low temperatures, the transmittance of VAODF transmission spectrum becomes larger with the increase of temperature. With the increase of laser intensity, the transmission spectrum of VAODF becomes smoother, and the number of peaks becomes fewer. VADOF can be used as a frequency-selective element to build external-cavity diode lasers (ECDLs), which automatically align the laser frequency to the atomic transition lines and are more compact than Faraday lasers.

SummaryCompared with Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter, the atom optical filter based on the Voigt effect can generate a stronger and more uniform magnetic field with a compact size of the magnet. The transmission characteristics of the Voigt anomalous dispersion optical filter (VADOF) are further investigated, and a transmission spectrum with ultra-low bandwidth immune to the cell temperature is constructed. Therefore, this optical filter has the potential to perform well in a complex environment, such as outdoor and out space. Importantly, the VADOF could be applied to a diode laser as a frequency-selective element, named "Voigt laser", contributing to better frequency stability.

In the development of atomic physics, laser sources with Frequencies corresponding to atomic transition and high stability are essential. The Faraday laser is a special diode laser using the Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter (FADOF) to realize frequency selection, so the output laser frequency is automatically limited to the atomic Doppler broadening. However, the frequency of a Faraday laser corresponds to the range around only one atomic hyperfine transition. Here, we realize a switchable Faraday laser with two isotopes laser frequencies corresponding to 85Rb 52S1/2 (F=3)→52P3/2 and 87Rb 52S1/2 (F=2)→52P3/2 transitions based on a single isotope 87Rb-FADOF. The laser has good robustness against the fluctuation of diode current and temperature, with wavelength fluctuating within 0.8 pm from 16 to 30 °C of diode temperature, and has a free-running linewidth of 18 kHz. We also lock the laser frequency to the two cycling transitions of 85Rb 52S1/2 (F=3)→52P3/2 (F′=4) and 87Rb 52S1/2 (F=2)→52P3/2 (F′=3) by the modulation transfer spectroscopy technique. The Allan deviation of the residual error signal is 3×10−14/τ, and the frequency stability of the beat detection reaches 2.8×10−12 at 1 s integration time. This 780 nm switchable Faraday laser expands the application scenarios of Faraday lasers, which can be used in laser cooling atoms, optical frequency standards, and other quantum precision measurement fields.

Numerous quantum devices require lasers strictly locked to atomic transitions. Atom-filtered lasers (AFLs) are considered a leading candidate for quantum device laser sources due to their ability to self-align to atomic transitions. However, the sub-GHz sharp transmission spectra of conventional atomic filters impose constraints on both laser miniaturization and output stability. Herein, we demonstrate a micro Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter (μFADOF) operating within the extreme hyperfine Paschen-Back regime, generating a 7.5 GHz flat-top transmission window. By integrating this filter, the miniaturization bottleneck of the AFLs is overcome, achieving a 30-fold volume reduction to a compact package volume of 75 mL. Simultaneously, investigations into the optical self-feedback characteristics of the μFADOF reveal a stable operating regime, where the optical self-feedback of the atomic filter acts as a stabilizing mechanism, enabling the laser to achieve a power instability of 9 x 10^-6 at 1 s and 3.2 x 10^-5 at 8400 s. The optical frequency standard based on this 75-mL AFL achieves a further improvement in long-term frequency stability to 3 x 10^-13 at 10000 s and maintains turn-key operation under environmental shocks, highlighting the critical role of this laser in the development of deployable quantum devices.

We demonstrate an extended cavity Faraday laser system using an antireflection-coated laser diode as the gain medium and the isotope (87)Rb Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter (FADOF) as the frequency selective device. Using this method, the laser wavelength works stably at the highest transmission peak of the isotope (87)Rb FADOF over the laser diode current from 55 to 140 mA and the temperature from 15°C to 35°C. Neither the current nor the temperature of the laser diode has significant influence on the output frequency. Compared with previous extended cavity laser systems operating at frequencies irrelevant to spectacular atomic transition lines, the laser system realized here provides a stable laser source with the frequency operating on atomic transitions for many practical applications.