We report and characterize sub-kHz linewidth operation of an AlGaInP-based VECSEL system suitable for addressing the narrow cooling transition of neutral strontium atoms at 689 nm. When frequency-stabilized to a standard air-spaced Fabry-Perot cavity (finesse 1000) via the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique, it delivers output power >150 mW in a circularly-symmetric single transverse mode with low frequency and intensity noise. The optical field was reconstructed from the frequency noise error signal via autocorrelation and the Wiener-Khintchine theorem, leading to an estimated linewidth of (125 ± 2) Hz. Optical beat note measurements were performed against a commercial locked laser system and a second, almost identical, VECSEL system resulting in linewidths of 200 Hz and 160 Hz FWHM, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a VECSEL compatible with the narrowest of lines (few hundred Hz) used for cooling and trapping atoms and ions.
Coherent backscattering is a coherence effect in the propagation of waves through disordered media involving two or more scattering events. Here, we report on the observation of coherent backscattering from individual atoms and their mirror images. This system displays two important advantages: First, the effect can be observed at low optical densities, which allows to work in very dilute clouds or far from resonance. Second, due to the fact that the radiation of an atom interferes constructively with that of its own image, the phenomenon is much more robust to dephasing induced by strong saturation. In particular, the contribution of inelastically scattered photons to the interference process is demonstrated.
Stable laser sources at 461 nm are important for optical cooling of strontium atoms. In most existing experiments this wavelength is obtained by frequency doubling infrared lasers, since blue laser diodes either have low power or large emission bandwidths. Here, we show that injecting less than 10 mW of monomode laser radiation into a blue multimode 500 mW high power laser diode is capable of slaving at least 50% of the power to the desired frequency. We verify the emission bandwidth reduction by saturation spectroscopy on a strontium gas cell and by direct beating of the slave with the master laser. We also demonstrate that the laser can efficiently be used within the Zeeman slower for optical cooling of a strontium atomic beam.
The theoretical description of the external degrees of freedom of atoms trapped inside a magnetooptical trap (MOT) often relies on the decoupling of the evolution of the internal and external degrees of freedom. That is possible thanks to much shorter timescales typically associated with the first ones. The electronic structure of alkaline-earth atoms, on the other hand, presents ultra-narrow transitions and metastable states that makes such an approximation invalid in the general case. In this article, we report on a model based on open Bloch equations for the evolution of the number of atoms in a magneto-optical trap. With this model we investigate the loading of the strontium blue magnetooptical trap under different repumping schemes, either directly from a Zeeman slower, or from an atomic reservoir made of atoms in a metastable state trapped in the magnetic quadrupolar field. The fluorescence observed on the strong 461 nm transition is recorded and quantitatively compared with the results from our simulations. The comparison between experimental results and calculations within our model allowed to identify the existence of the decay paths between the upper level of the repumping transition and the dark strontium metastable states, which could not be explained by electric dipole transition rates calculated in the literature. Moreover, our analysis pinpoints the role of the atomic movement in limiting the efficiency of the atomic repumping of the Sr metastable states.
We report the design, growth, and characterization of an AlGaInP-based VECSEL, designed to be optically-pumped with an inexpensive high power blue InGaN diode laser, for emission around 689 nm. Up to 140 mW output power is achieved in a circularly-symmetric single transverse (TEM00) and single longitudinal mode, tunable from 683 to 693 nm. With intensity stabilization of the pump diode and frequency-stabilization of the VECSEL resonator to a reference cavity via the Pound-Drever-Hall technique, we measure the power spectral density of the VECSEL frequency noise, reporting sub-kHz linewidth at 689 nm. The VECSEL relative intensity noise (RIN) is <−130 dBc/Hz for all frequencies above 100 kHz. This compact laser system is suitable for use in quantum technologies, particularly those based on laser-cooled and trapped strontium atoms.
We report sub-kHz linewidth operation of a frequency-stabilized, AlGaInP-based vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) at 689nm, suitable for Strontium cold atom experiments. 170mW was emitted with linewidth ≤200Hz, determined via an optical beat note measurement.
We report the design, growth, and characterization of an AlGaInP-based VECSEL, designed to be optically-pumped with an inexpensive high power blue InGaN diode laser, for emission around 689 nm. Up to 140 mW output power is achieved in a circularly-symmetric single transverse (TEM 00 ) and single longitudinal mode, tunable from 683 to 693 nm. With intensity stabilization of the pump diode and frequency-stabilization of the VECSEL resonator to a reference cavity via the Pound-Drever-Hall technique, we measure the power spectral density of the VECSEL frequency noise, reporting sub-kHz linewidth at 689 nm. The VECSEL relative intensity noise (RIN) is <−130 dBc/Hz for all frequencies above 100 kHz. This compact laser system is suitable for use in quantum technologies, particularly those based on laser-cooled and trapped strontium atoms.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.