Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

APL Photonics

Sub-kHz linewidth intracavity VECSEL-pumped OPO

Steven Anderson, Paulo Hisao Moriya, Lucia Caspani, Jennifer E. Hastie

Published Feb 1, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report low noise and narrow linewidth performance of an actively stabilized optical parametric oscillator, intracavity-pumped by a visible AlGaInP-based vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL). Under dual-locking conditions, where the VECSEL and intracavity resonant idler are stabilized using the Pound–Drever–Hall and side-of-fringe locking techniques, respectively, narrow linewidths of 6.21(1) kHz (VECSEL) and 151(1) Hz (idler) are achieved for integration times as long as 4 s, illustrating the transfer of noise from the VECSEL fundamental to the OPO non-resonant signal. In this regime, the relative intensity noise of all three interacting waves is <−120 dBc/Hz for all frequencies above 1 kHz, indicating that this coherent laser system is well-suited for quantum optics experiments, potentially those involving squeezed light generation.

DOI
10.1063/5.0308873

Related papers

Intra-cavity frequency-doubled VECSEL system for narrow linewidth Rydberg EIT spectroscopy

Joshua C. Hill, William K. Holland, Paul D. Kunz +4 more

High-power, narrow-linewidth light sources in the visible and UV spectra are in growing demand, particularly as quantum information and sensing research proliferates. Vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs) with intra-cavity frequency conversion are emerging as an attractive platform to fill these needs. Using such a device, we demonstrate 3.5 MHz full-width half-maximum Rydberg-state spectroscopy via electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The laser's 690 mW of output power at a wavelength of 475 nm enables large Rabi frequencies and strong signal-to-noise ratio in shorter measurement times. In addition, we characterize the frequency stability of the VECSEL using the delayed self-heterodyne technique and direct comparison with a commercial external-cavity diode laser (ECDL). We measure the pre-doubled light's Lorentzian linewidth to be 2π × 5.3(2) kHz, and the total linewidth to be 2π × 23(2) kHz. These measurements provide evidence that intra-cavity frequency-doubled VECSELs can perform precision spectroscopy at and below the MHz level, and are a promising tool for contemporary, and future, quantum technologies.

arXiv:2206.00096•Optics Express•Oct 7, 2022•15 citations

30-Hz relative linewidth watt output power 165 µm continuous-wave singly resonant optical parametric oscillator

Aliou Ly, Christophe Siour, Fabien Bretenaker

We built a 1-watt cw singly resonant optical parametric oscillator operating at an idler wavelength of 1.65 µm for application to quantum interfaces. The non resonant idler is frequency stabilized by side-fringe locking on a relatively high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity, and the influence of intensity noise is carefully analyzed. A relative linewidth down to the sub-kHz level (about 30 Hz over 2 s) is achieved. A very good long term stability is obtained for both frequency and intensity.

arXiv:1611.09659•Optics Express•Apr 10, 2017•12 citations

VECSEL systems for the generation and manipulation of trapped magnesium ions

S. C. Burd, D. T. C. Allcock, T. Leinonen +8 more

Experiments in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics rely on lasers at many different wavelengths and with varying requirements on spectral linewidth, power, and intensity stability. Vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs), when combined with nonlinear frequency conversion, can potentially replace many of the laser systems currently in use. Here we present and characterize VECSEL systems that can perform all laser-based tasks for quantum information processing experiments with trapped magnesium ions. For photoionization of neutral magnesium, 570.6$\,$nm light is generated with an intracavity frequency-doubled VECSEL containing a lithium triborate (LBO) crystal for second harmonic generation. External frequency doubling produces 285.3$\,$nm light for resonant interaction with the $^{1}S_{0}\leftrightarrow$ $^{1}P_{1}$ transition of neutral Mg. Using an externally frequency-quadrupled VECSEL, we implement Doppler cooling of $^{25}$Mg$^{+}$ on the 279.6$\,$nm $^{2}S_{1/2}\leftrightarrow$ $^{2}P_{3/2}$ cycling transition, repumping on the 280.4$\,$nm $^{2}S_{1/2}\leftrightarrow$ $^{2}P_{1/2}$ transition, coherent state manipulation, and resolved sideband cooling close to the motional ground state. Our systems serve as prototypes for applications in AMO requiring single-frequency, power-scalable laser sources at multiple wavelengths.

arXiv:1606.03484•Optica•Nov 4, 2016•33 citations

Watt-level single-frequency optical parametric oscillator around 2 µm

Nicola Coluccelli, Giovanni Cichelli, M. Polastri +3 more

A single-frequency optical parametric oscillator (OPO) operating in the wavelength range around 2 µm is reported. The OPO comprises a periodically poled LiNbO 3 (PPLN) crystal for quasi-phase matching and a four-mirror ring-cavity resonant to the signal. The OPO signal and idler are tuned from 1.89 to 2.05 µm and from 2.21 to 2.42 µm, respectively, by changing the crystal temperature. Output powers in excess of 2 W are demonstrated at a pump power of 9 W for both the signal and idler over all of the respective tuning ranges. A detailed characterization of the intensity and frequency noise is presented. The OPO exhibits an integrated intensity noise below 0.1% and a linewidth of ∼58 kHz for an observation time of 1 ms. The reported performance makes this source an ideal candidate for the generation of squeezed light around 2 µm via cascaded second-harmonic generation (SHG) and parametric downconversion (PDC).

Optics Letters•Sep 20, 2024•5 citations

Direct observation of slow light in the noise spectrum of a laser

Abdelkrim El Amili, B.-X. Miranda, Fabienne Goldfarb +5 more

Coherent population oscillations (CPO), an ubiquitous mechanism inducing slow and fast light (SFL), is present in any active medium provided that a strong optical beam saturates this medium. Thus, CPO must be present in any single frequency laser since the oscillating beam acts as a strong pump which saturates the active medium. This effect could be observed using an external probe whose angular frequency is detuned with respect to the oscillating mode, by less than the inverse of the population inversion lifetime. This effect should be visible in the laser excess noise, using the spontaneous emission present in the non-lasing side longitudinal modes of a single-frequency laser as probe of the CPO effect. Class-A vertical external cavity surface emitting semiconductor lasers (VECSELs) [1] recently developed for their low noise characteristics make them perfectly suited for the observation of CPO induced SFL in their noise spectrum. The single-frequency laser used in our experiment is a VECSEL which operates at ∼ 1 µm. We focus on the excess noise due to the beat notes between the laser line and the spontaneous emission noise at neighboring longitudinal mode frequencies [2,3]. At the pthFSR frequency pΔ, the noise spectrum is thus the sum of two Lorentzian peaks due to the beat notes of the lasing mode with the corresponding sidebands (pthand −pthmodes). When the pumping rate is increased, we found experimentally that the excess noise consists of two peaks separated by δf = fp− f−p∼ 100 kHz (inset of Fig.1(a)). This frequency shift is given by: δf ≈ ν0Lmover L+n0Lm(δnp+δn−p), where n0 is the bulk refractive index of the semiconductor structure, L and Lmare the length of the cavity and the gain medium respectively. δn±pare the modifications of the refractive index of the structure experienced by the ±p side modes and induced by the dispersion associated with the CPO effect. In a semiconductor active medium, thanks to the Bogatov effect [4], the dispersion is not an odd function of the frequency detuning with respect to ½0. Thus, δnp≠ −δn−pand the two beat note frequencies fpand f−pcorresponding to the p and −p modes occur at slightly different frequencies, as evidenced by the double peak of Fig.1(a). This CPO induced index modification can be derived from the gain medium rate equation including the phase-intensity coupling coefficient α (Henry's factor) that is responsible for the Bogatov effect. This CPO effect is also responsible for the modification of the refractive index seen by the side modes which modifies the round-trip phase accumulated by each side mode Fig.1(b). Notice also that since the cavity FSR Δ is sufficiently large that we are probe the wings of the dispersion profile of Fig.1(b), i. e., in the slow light regime. In conclusion, we experimentally evidenced the existence of intracavity slow light effects in a laser induced by the CPO mechanism. These effects are probed by the laser spontaneous emission noise present in the non lasing modes.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•May 1, 2011•0 citations

A low phase noise cavity transmission self-injection locked laser system for atomic physics experiments

Ludwig Krinner, Kai Dietze, Lennart Pelzer +2 more

Lasers with high spectral purity are indispensable for optical clocks and coherent manipulation of atomic and molecular qubits for applications such as quantum computing and quantum simulation. Stabilisation of the laser to a reference can provide a narrow linewidth and high spectral purity. However, widely-used diode lasers exhibit fast phase noise that prevents high fidelity qubit manipulation. Here we demonstrate a self-injection locked diode laser system utilizing a medium finesse cavity. The cavity not only provides a stable resonance frequency, but at the same time acts as a low-pass filter for phase noise beyond the cavity linewidth of around 100 kHz, resulting in low phase noise from dc to the injection lock limit. We model the expected laser performance and benchmark it using a single trapped $^{40}$Ca$^{+}$-ion as a spectrum analyser. We show that the fast phase noise of the laser at relevant Fourier frequencies of 100 kHz to >2 MHz is suppressed to a noise floor of between -110 dBc/Hz and -120 dBc/Hz, an improvement of 20 to 30 dB over state-of-the-art Pound-Drever-Hall-stabilized extended-cavity diode lasers. This strong suppression avoids incoherent (spurious) spin flips during manipulation of optical qubits and improves laser-driven gates in using diode lasers with applications in quantum logic spectroscopy, quantum simulation and quantum computation.

arXiv:2311.03461•Nov 6, 2023•2 citations
We report low noise and narrow linewidth performance of an actively stabilized optical parametric oscillator, intracavity-pumped by a visible AlGaInP-based vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL). Under dual-locking conditions, where the VECSEL and intracavity resonant idler are stabilized using the Pound–Drever–Hall and side-of-fringe locking techniques, respectively, narrow linewidths of 6.21(1) kHz (VECSEL) and 151(1) Hz (idler) are achieved for integration times as long as 4 s, illustrating the transfer of noise from the VECSEL fundamental to the OPO non-resonant signal. In this regime, the relative intensity noise of all three interacting waves is <−120 dBc/Hz for all frequencies above 1 kHz, indicating that this coherent laser system is well-suited for quantum optics experiments, potentially those involving squeezed light generation.
High-power, narrow-linewidth light sources in the visible and UV spectra are in growing demand, particularly as quantum information and sensing research proliferates. Vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs) with intra-cavity frequency conversion are emerging as an attractive platform to fill these needs. Using such a device, we demonstrate 3.5 MHz full-width half-maximum Rydberg-state spectroscopy via electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The laser's 690 mW of output power at a wavelength of 475 nm enables large Rabi frequencies and strong signal-to-noise ratio in shorter measurement times. In addition, we characterize the frequency stability of the VECSEL using the delayed self-heterodyne technique and direct comparison with a commercial external-cavity diode laser (ECDL). We measure the pre-doubled light's Lorentzian linewidth to be 2π × 5.3(2) kHz, and the total linewidth to be 2π × 23(2) kHz. These measurements provide evidence that intra-cavity frequency-doubled VECSELs can perform precision spectroscopy at and below the MHz level, and are a promising tool for contemporary, and future, quantum technologies.
Experiments in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics rely on lasers at many different wavelengths and with varying requirements on spectral linewidth, power, and intensity stability. Vertical external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs), when combined with nonlinear frequency conversion, can potentially replace many of the laser systems currently in use. Here we present and characterize VECSEL systems that can perform all laser-based tasks for quantum information processing experiments with trapped magnesium ions. For photoionization of neutral magnesium, 570.6 \,nm light is generated with an intracavity frequency-doubled VECSEL containing a lithium triborate (LBO) crystal for second harmonic generation. External frequency doubling produces 285.3 \,nm light for resonant interaction with the 1S0↔^{1}S_{0}\leftrightarrow1S0​↔ 1P1^{1}P_{1}1P1​ transition of neutral Mg. Using an externally frequency-quadrupled VECSEL, we implement Doppler cooling of 25^{25}25Mg+^{+}+ on the 279.6 \,nm 2S1/2↔^{2}S_{1/2}\leftrightarrow2S1/2​↔ 2P3/2^{2}P_{3/2}2P3/2​ cycling transition, repumping on the 280.4 \,nm 2S1/2↔^{2}S_{1/2}\leftrightarrow2S1/2​↔ 2P1/2^{2}P_{1/2}2P1/2​ transition, coherent state manipulation, and resolved sideband cooling close to the motional ground state. Our systems serve as prototypes for applications in AMO requiring single-frequency, power-scalable laser sources at multiple wavelengths.
A single-frequency optical parametric oscillator (OPO) operating in the wavelength range around 2 µm is reported. The OPO comprises a periodically poled LiNbO 3 (PPLN) crystal for quasi-phase matching and a four-mirror ring-cavity resonant to the signal. The OPO signal and idler are tuned from 1.89 to 2.05 µm and from 2.21 to 2.42 µm, respectively, by changing the crystal temperature. Output powers in excess of 2 W are demonstrated at a pump power of 9 W for both the signal and idler over all of the respective tuning ranges. A detailed characterization of the intensity and frequency noise is presented. The OPO exhibits an integrated intensity noise below 0.1% and a linewidth of ∼58 kHz for an observation time of 1 ms. The reported performance makes this source an ideal candidate for the generation of squeezed light around 2 µm via cascaded second-harmonic generation (SHG) and parametric downconversion (PDC).
Coherent population oscillations (CPO), an ubiquitous mechanism inducing slow and fast light (SFL), is present in any active medium provided that a strong optical beam saturates this medium. Thus, CPO must be present in any single frequency laser since the oscillating beam acts as a strong pump which saturates the active medium. This effect could be observed using an external probe whose angular frequency is detuned with respect to the oscillating mode, by less than the inverse of the population inversion lifetime. This effect should be visible in the laser excess noise, using the spontaneous emission present in the non-lasing side longitudinal modes of a single-frequency laser as probe of the CPO effect. Class-A vertical external cavity surface emitting semiconductor lasers (VECSELs) [1] recently developed for their low noise characteristics make them perfectly suited for the observation of CPO induced SFL in their noise spectrum. The single-frequency laser used in our experiment is a VECSEL which operates at ∼ 1 µm. We focus on the excess noise due to the beat notes between the laser line and the spontaneous emission noise at neighboring longitudinal mode frequencies [2,3]. At the pthFSR frequency pΔ, the noise spectrum is thus the sum of two Lorentzian peaks due to the beat notes of the lasing mode with the corresponding sidebands (pthand −pthmodes). When the pumping rate is increased, we found experimentally that the excess noise consists of two peaks separated by δf = fp− f−p∼ 100 kHz (inset of Fig.1(a)). This frequency shift is given by: δf ≈ ν0Lmover L+n0Lm(δnp+δn−p), where n0 is the bulk refractive index of the semiconductor structure, L and Lmare the length of the cavity and the gain medium respectively. δn±pare the modifications of the refractive index of the structure experienced by the ±p side modes and induced by the dispersion associated with the CPO effect. In a semiconductor active medium, thanks to the Bogatov effect [4], the dispersion is not an odd function of the frequency detuning with respect to ½0. Thus, δnp≠ −δn−pand the two beat note frequencies fpand f−pcorresponding to the p and −p modes occur at slightly different frequencies, as evidenced by the double peak of Fig.1(a). This CPO induced index modification can be derived from the gain medium rate equation including the phase-intensity coupling coefficient α (Henry's factor) that is responsible for the Bogatov effect. This CPO effect is also responsible for the modification of the refractive index seen by the side modes which modifies the round-trip phase accumulated by each side mode Fig.1(b). Notice also that since the cavity FSR Δ is sufficiently large that we are probe the wings of the dispersion profile of Fig.1(b), i. e., in the slow light regime. In conclusion, we experimentally evidenced the existence of intracavity slow light effects in a laser induced by the CPO mechanism. These effects are probed by the laser spontaneous emission noise present in the non lasing modes.
Lasers with high spectral purity are indispensable for optical clocks and coherent manipulation of atomic and molecular qubits for applications such as quantum computing and quantum simulation. Stabilisation of the laser to a reference can provide a narrow linewidth and high spectral purity. However, widely-used diode lasers exhibit fast phase noise that prevents high fidelity qubit manipulation. Here we demonstrate a self-injection locked diode laser system utilizing a medium finesse cavity. The cavity not only provides a stable resonance frequency, but at the same time acts as a low-pass filter for phase noise beyond the cavity linewidth of around 100 kHz, resulting in low phase noise from dc to the injection lock limit. We model the expected laser performance and benchmark it using a single trapped 40^{40}40Ca+^{+}+-ion as a spectrum analyser. We show that the fast phase noise of the laser at relevant Fourier frequencies of 100 kHz to >2 MHz is suppressed to a noise floor of between -110 dBc/Hz and -120 dBc/Hz, an improvement of 20 to 30 dB over state-of-the-art Pound-Drever-Hall-stabilized extended-cavity diode lasers. This strong suppression avoids incoherent (spurious) spin flips during manipulation of optical qubits and improves laser-driven gates in using diode lasers with applications in quantum logic spectroscopy, quantum simulation and quantum computation.