Spectroscopy of ^171Yb in an optical lattice based on laser linewidth transfer using a narrow linewidth frequency comb

Abstract

We propose a novel, high-performance, and practical laser source system for optical clocks. The laser linewidth of a fiber-based frequency comb is reduced by phase locking a comb mode to an ultrastable master laser at 1064 nm with a broad servo bandwidth. A slave laser at 578 nm is successively phase locked to a comb mode at 578 nm with a broad servo bandwidth without any pre-stabilization. Laser frequency characteristics such as spectral linewidth and frequency stability are transferred to the 578-nm slave laser from the 1064-nm master laser. Using the slave laser, we have succeeded in observing the clock transition of (171)Yb atoms confined in an optical lattice with a 20-Hz spectral linewidth.

Optical atomic clocks

“…These measurements can be made at the stability of the optical standards themselves, without being limited by the lower stability of most microwave standards. The femtosecond comb, using now standard laboratory techniques, thus enables microwave-to-optical, optical-to-microwave, and optical-to-optical phase-coherent measurements and distribution at a precision level often better than the atomic clocks (Ma et al, 2004(Ma et al, , 2007Kim et al, 2008b;Lipphardt et al, 2009;Nakajima et al, 2010;Zhang et al, 2010;Fortier et al, 2011Fortier et al, , 2013Hagemann et al, 2013;Inaba et al, 2013).…”

Creating and probing the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev model with ultracold gases: Towards experimental studies of quantum gravity

“…(D1) and set N = 16, V 0 = −60E R , R = 0.59, and θ = π/6, then the minimum level spacing is given by ∆ min = h × 66.7 Hz such that Γ PA 2π × 1 Hz is required. State-of-art experiments have successfully stabilized a laser with a single frequency to the extent that Γ PA ∼ 2π × 0.1 Hz, aiming to its application to optical-lattice atomic clocks [52,55,56]. However, achieving such narrow linewidth for lasers with multiple frequencies is challenging for current experiments.…”

Second harmonic generation at 399 nm resonant on the ^1S_0−^1P1 transition of ytterbium using a periodically poled LiNbO_3 waveguide

“…Another advantage is that the 798-nm ECDL can easily be linked to an optical frequency comb based on a mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser (1000 − 2050 nm) or a Ti:S laser (500 − 1100 nm). We have previously developed the fiber-based frequency combs for frequency stabilization of several light sources used in our Yb and Sr optical lattice clocks [49][50][51]. The 798-nm ECDL can similarly be stabilized to our frequency comb by detecting a heterodyne beat note between the 798-nm light and an SHG comb component.…”