A medium-finesse optical cavity for the stabilization of Rydberg lasers
Abstract
We describe the design, construction, and characterization of a medium-finesse Fabry-P\'erot cavity for simultaneous frequency stabilization of two lasers operating at 960 and 780 nm wavelengths, respectively. The lasers are applied in experiments with ultracold rubidium Rydberg atoms, for which a combined laser linewidth similar to the natural Rydberg linewidth (approximately 10 kHz) is desired. The cavity, with a finesse of approximately 1500, is used to reduce the linewidth of the lasers to below this level. By using a spacer made of ultra low expansion (ULE) glass with active temperature stabilization, the residual frequency drift is limited to 1 MHz/day. The design optimizes for ease of construction, robustness, and affordability.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1705.04684,
title = {A medium-finesse optical cavity for the stabilization of Rydberg lasers},
author = {Julius de Hond and Nataly Cisternas and Graham Lochead and N. J. van Druten},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1705.04684},
year = {2018}
}
Comments
8 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to Applied Optics