Frequency stabilization of a cw dye laser

Barger, R. L.; Sorem, M.; Hall, John L.

doi:10.1063/1.1654513

Cited by 149 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…A very early technique, which still finds use today through its simplicity, is locking to the side of a molecular or a cavity transmission fringe. The earliest stabilization of dye lasers used this technique [22], and for example it was used for the first stabilization test of quantum cascade lasers [108]. Limitations include conversion of laser intensity noise to frequency noise, and the necessity for normalization against laser power to prevent large drifts in the lock point.…”

Section: Comparison To Other Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 1973, the desire for a finer optical tool with which to probe atomic and molecular transitions drove the stabilization of the dye laser using optical cavities [22]- [24]. This effort was supercharged in a very real way by the desire to capture a laser beam between cavity mirrors separated by considerable distances (kilometers in fact!)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The pathway to removing these effects was identified and embarked upon early, however. Optical cavities in early experiments [22] (1973) used Invar 4 spacers enclosed in a sealed tank. Later, Zerodur 5 became available, having even lower temperature coefficients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optical frequency stabilization and optical phase locked loops: Golden threads of precision measurement

Taubman

2013

2013 American Control Conference

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Stabilization of lasers through locking to optical cavities, and the transitions of atoms and molecules has revolutionized the field of precision optical measurement since shortly after the invention of the laser. Phase locking of one laser to another, formed the basis for linking stable lasers across the optical spectrum, the resulting frequency chains exhibiting progressively finer precision through the years. Phase locking between the modes within a femtosecond pulsed laser has yielded the optical frequency comb, one of the most elegant and useful instruments of our time. This tutorial paper gives an overview of these topics, from early work through to the latest 1E-17 fractional uncertainty attained for an optical clock, and the ongoing quest for ever finer precision and accuracy.

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Section: Comparison To Other Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optical frequency stabilization and optical phase locked loops: Golden threads of precision measurement

Taubman

2013

2013 American Control Conference

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“…The upward 588 nm neon is 5 ÷ 2P2 transition is excited by a 2 cm diameter diffraction-limited optical standing wave, produced by our i00 mW frequency-stabilized dye laser. 4 The nonlinear absorption resonance, observed in the 2P2 ÷ is 2 (660 nm) fluorescence channel, is used to identify atomic beam particles which have zero first-order Doppler shift. Thus we can in principle have a resonance linewidth approaching the natural linewidth of ~i0 MHz.…”

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confidence: 99%

A new measurement of the relativistic Doppler shift

Snyder

Hall

1975

Laser Spectroscopy

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It is widely believed that laser techniques will make possible a new generation of interesting tests of the fundamental concepts underlying contemporary physical thought.Given the recent progress in laser frequency stabilization and in the achievement of ever higher spectral resolution, one may imagine laser devices ultimately serving as quantum frequency standards in a number of interesting and fundamental experiments. Several such experiments being actively considered are: more precise measurements of the gravitational redshift, more sensitive tests for spatial anisotropy, and frequency comparison experiments designed to look for a secular drift of the frequency ratio of atomic clocks based on different physical principles. But happily enough, sometimes the available techniques are sufficient to make interesting measurements even before the great Laser Millenium arrives. In this paper we report on our high precision measurements of the relativistic (or "transverse") Doppler effect using laser saturated absorption techniques on a high speed atomic beam. Previous optical measurements of the effect I have used comparable beam speeds, but have been limited by normal Doppler broadening to a few percent accuracy. The MSssbauer experiments 2 obtained similar accuracy by using very high spectral resolution, but were limited by the relatively low speed attainable with a mechanical rotor. Meson experiments 3 have wonderful v/c values, b~t extreme precision is hard to achieve in measuring the time of flight and the decay length. Our experiment is based on the observation that the particles observed in saturation spectroscopy are free of first-order Doppler shifts and broadening. The transverse effect, however, is more persistent. It *NRC-NBS Postdoctoral Fellow. "~Staff ~ember, Laboratory Astrophysics Division, National Bureau of Standards.

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“…By monitoring the intensity of the light after interacting with the reference, and knowing the dependence on detuning, an error signal is obtained. Intensity locking schemes include: locking to the transmission peak of a cavity, locking to the side of a transmission fringe [3], dithering the source frequency about a transmission peak [4] and saturation spectroscopy [5]. Common to all intensity locking schemes is that only the intensity of the output signal matters, and if it is recombined with part of the original signal, this is done incoherently (e.g., by differencing the signals from two photodetectors, before and after the cavity).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%