A narrow-band tunable diode laser system with grating feedback, and a saturated absorption spectrometer for Cs and Rb

Abstract

Detailed instructions for the construction and operation of a diode laser system with optical feedback are presented. This system uses feedback from a diffraction grating to provide a narrow-band continuously tuneable source of light at red or near-IR wavelengths. These instructions include machine drawings for the parts to be constructed, electronic circuit diagrams, and prices and vendors of the items to be purchased. It is also explained how to align the system and how to use it to observe saturated absorption spectra of atomic cesium or rubidium.

On the design of enhancement cavities for second harmonic generation

“…The optical mounts used should be stable, free of backlash and o er ®ne adjustment, and thē exure type [22,23] is often chosen 2 . As always, it is helpful to decouple rotational and translational adjustments.…”

A compact grating-stabilized diode laser system for atomic physics

“…Their success in many experiments in atomic physics has stimulated an increasing interest in this scheme. Although a detailed and comprehensive description of a grating stabilized laser diode system is already available [4,5], this article presents an alternative, very compact and economic mechanical design. Our setup can easily be manufactured and provides high passive stability resulting in low frequency drift rates.…”

“…The imperfect spectral features of free-running laser diodes (modehopping and large linewidth) can be dramatically improved by exploiting their sensitivity to optical feedback [ 21. During the past decade several stabilization arrangements have been presented, either using coupling to an external, high-Q cavity [ 31 or to a diffraction grating [4,5]. In the first case, a fraction of the output beam is coupled into a high-Q Fabry-Perot resonator and redirected back into the diode laser.…”

Extended temperature tuning of an external cavity diode laser

“…Note that the figure shows data collected from a free-running laser diode, as opposed to one in an external cavity configuration. Figure 10 shows a saturated absorption spectrum [2] of the D2 transition of potassium at 766.7 nm, collected using a cooled diode laser in an external cavity configuration. The data was collected on an uncalibrated photodiode as the laser wavelength was scanned by tuning the voltage across a piezoelectric transducer attached to the grating of the external cavity.…”

“…In atom optics one of the best examples of well engineered systems based around mass-produced laser diodes is the external cavity diode laser (ECDL) [2,3]. It is capable of narrowing the spectral output of typical "single mode" laser diode to less than 1 MHz, while maintaining a tuning range of up to ± 2 nm.…”