Laser frequency stabilization using regenerative spectral hole burning

Strickland, N. M.; Sellin, P. B.; Sun, Yazhou; Carlsten, J. L.; Cone, R. L.

doi:10.1103/physrevb.62.1473

Cited by 76 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…[113]) and fibre optics amplifiers [114,115], but more recently also for laser stabilization to programmable frequency standards [116][117][118][119][120][121][122], and radio frequency analyzers [123][124][125]. These studies, together with extensive fundamental investigations (see [84,126] and contributions by G. Liu and Y. C. Sun in [85]), have resulted in broad understanding of interactions in RE solids.…”

Section: Rare-earth-ion Doped Solidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photon‐echo quantum memory in solid state systems

Tittel¹,

Afzelius

Chanelière

et al. 2010

Laser & Photonics Reviews

430

418

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many applications of quantum communication crucially depend on reversible transfer of quantum states between light and matter. Motivated by rapid recent developments in theory and experiment, we review research related to quantum memory based on a photon-echo approach in solid state material with emphasis on use in a quantum repeater. After introducing quantum communication, the quantum repeater concept, and properties of a quantum memory required to be useful in a quantum repeater, we describe the historical development from spin echoes, discovered in 1950, to photon-echo quantum memory. We present a simple theoretical description of the ideal protocol, and comment on the impact of a non-ideal realization on its quantum nature. We extensively discuss rare-earth-ion doped crystals and glasses as material candidates, elaborate on traditional photon-echo experiments as a test-bed for quantum state storage, and describe the current state-of-the-art of photon-echo quantum memory. Finally, we give a brief outlook on current research.The picture shows a Europium doped Y2SiO5 crystal surrounded by electrodes in the setup used for the first proof-of-principle demonstration of the novel, photon-echo based quantum memory protocol.

show abstract

Section: Rare-earth-ion Doped Solidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photon‐echo quantum memory in solid state systems

Tittel¹,

Afzelius

Chanelière

et al. 2010

Laser & Photonics Reviews

430

418

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In such systems, the instantaneous laser frequency excursions are compared to the spectral memory stored in a crystal, and an error signal is derived to stabilize the laser. A fractional-frequency stability of σ y (τ ) = 3 × 10 −14 for τ = 10 ms has been demonstrated [16], but at longer times the instability was significantly higher due to the transient nature of holes in Tm 3+ :Y 2 Al 5 O 12 and high photon fluxes that acted to degrade the spectral memory. Although initial demonstrations of spectral-hole-burning laser locks did not reach the stability of FP-cavities, we expect the fundamental thermomechanical noise limit to be lower, because spectral holes are atomic frequency references that are perturbed only weakly through coupling to the crystal host.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spectral-hole burning in cryogenically cooled crystals has been demonstrated as an alternative to FP cavities for laser-stabilization [15,16,17,18]. In such systems, the instantaneous laser frequency excursions are compared to the spectral memory stored in a crystal, and an error signal is derived to stabilize the laser.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frequency stabilization to 6 × 10−16 via spectral-hole burning

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We demonstrate two-stage laser stabilization based on a combination of FabryPérot and spectral-hole burning techniques. The laser is first pre-stabilized by the Fabry-Pérot cavity to a fractional-frequency stability of σ y (τ ) < 10 −13 . A pattern of spectral holes written in the absorption spectrum of Eu 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5 serves to further stabilize the laser to σ y (τ ) = 6 × 10 −16 for 2 s ≤ τ ≤ 8 s. Measurements characterizing the frequency sensitivity of Eu 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5 spectral holes to environmental perturbations suggest that they can be more frequencystable than Fabry-Pérot cavities.

show abstract

“…The stability of the best lasers constructed to date [10][11][12] is limited by thermomechanical length fluctuations of the Fabry-Pérot reference cavities used for stabilization (i.e., thermally-driven displacement fluctuations of the atoms that make up the cavity) [13,14]. Present and future applications would benefit from lasers with improved stability [12,15].One alternative to the mechanical frequency reference provided by Fabry-Pérot cavities is spectral-hole burning (SHB) laser-frequency stabilization [16][17][18][19][20]. In this technique, the frequency reference is an atomic transition of rare-earth dopant ions in a cryogenically cooled crystal.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Absolute and Relative Stability of an Optical Frequency Reference Based on Spectral Hole Burning inEu3+:Y2SiO5

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We present and analyze four frequency measurements designed to characterize the performance of an optical frequency reference based on spectral hole burning in Eu 3+ :Y2SiO5 . The first frequency comparison, between a single unperturbed spectral hole and a hydrogen maser, demonstrates a fractional frequency drift rate of 5 × 10 −18 s −1 . Optical-frequency comparisons between a pattern of spectral holes, a Fabry-Pérot cavity, and an Al + optical atomic clock show a short-term fractional frequency stability of 1 × 10 −15 τ −1/2 that averages down to 2.5 Frequency-stable laser local oscillators (LLOs) are important tools for a variety of precision measurements. Examples include both scientific applications such as searches for the variation of fundamental constants [1,2] and tests of general relativity [3,4] as well as technical applications such as synthesis of low-phase-noise microwaves [5][6][7] and relativistic geodesy [8,9]. The stability of the best lasers constructed to date [10][11][12] is limited by thermomechanical length fluctuations of the Fabry-Pérot reference cavities used for stabilization (i.e., thermally-driven displacement fluctuations of the atoms that make up the cavity) [13,14]. Present and future applications would benefit from lasers with improved stability [12,15].One alternative to the mechanical frequency reference provided by Fabry-Pérot cavities is spectral-hole burning (SHB) laser-frequency stabilization [16][17][18][19][20]. In this technique, the frequency reference is an atomic transition of rare-earth dopant ions in a cryogenically cooled crystal. These systems typically display an inhomogeneously broadened absorption line with a linewidth of order gigahertz, but the optical coherence time can be as long as milliseconds. Thus, in systems with an appropriate level structure, a spectrally-narrow transparency, or spectral hole, can be written into the broad absorption line by optically pumping a subset of the dopant ions to a longlived auxiliary state. For laser-frequency stabilization, a spectral hole is written into the crystal at the beginning of the experiment, and subsequently the laser frequency is stabilized to the center of the spectral hole by probing the transmission of the crystal and feeding back to the laser frequency. Because the coupling between crystal strain and the internal states of the dopant ions is weak, the thermomechanical noise that limits Fabry-Pérot cavities is only a weak perturbation to the frequencies of spectral holes.The material system Eu 3+ :Y 2 SiO 5 in particular is very promising for high-performance laser-frequency stabilization because it supports spectral holes with a linewidth

show abstract

Laser frequency stabilization using regenerative spectral hole burning

Cited by 76 publications

References 35 publications

Photon‐echo quantum memory in solid state systems

Photon‐echo quantum memory in solid state systems

Frequency stabilization to 6 × 10−16 via spectral-hole burning

Absolute and Relative Stability of an Optical Frequency Reference Based on Spectral Hole Burning inEu3+:Y2SiO5

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About