Sub-Hz line width diode lasers by stabilization to vibrationally and thermally compensated ULE Fabry-Perot cavities

We achieved a 0.5 Hz optical beat note line width with ~ 0.1 Hz/s frequency drift at 972 nm between two external cavity diode lasers independently stabilized to two vertically mounted Fabry-Perot (FP) reference cavities. Vertical FP reference cavities are suspended in mid-plane such that the influence of vertical vibrations to the mirror separation is significantly suppressed. This makes the setup virtually immune for vertical vibrations that are more difficult to isolate than the horizontal vibrations. To compensate for thermal drifts the FP spacers are made from Ultra-Low-Expansion (ULE) glass which possesses a zero linear expansion coefficient. A new design using Peltier elements in vacuum allows operation at an optimal temperature where the quadratic temperature expansion of the ULE could be eliminated as well. The measured linear drift of such ULE FP cavity of 63 mHz/s was due to material aging and the residual frequency fluctuations were less than 40 Hz during 16 hours of measurement. Some part of the temperature-caused drift is attributed to the thermal expansion of the mirror coatings. High-frequency thermal fluctuations that cause vibrations of the mirror surfaces limit the stability of a well designed reference cavity. By comparing two similar laser systems we obtain an Allan instability of 2*10-15 between 0.1 and 10 s averaging time, which is close to the theoretical thermal noise limit.Comment: submitted to Applied Physics

Frequency-modulation spectroscopy with blue diode lasers

Frequency-modulation spectroscopy provides ultrasensitive absorption measurements. The technique is especially adaptable to diode lasers, which can be modulated easily, and has been used extensively in the near-infrared and infrared spectral regions. The availability of blue diode lasers now means that the accessible wavelength region can be increased. We successfully demonstrate wavelength-modulation spectroscopy and two-tone frequency-modulation spectroscopy for the weak second resonance line of potassium at 404.8 nm and for the transition at 405.8 nm in lead, starting from the thermally populated 6p(2) P-3(2) metastable level, information on the modulation parameters is obtained with a fitting procedure. Experimental signal-to-noise ratios: at different absorption levels are compared with theoretical signal-to-noise ratios and show good agreement. Detection sensitivities of 2 x 10(-6) and 5 x 10(-6) for wavelength and two-tone frequency-modulation spectroscopy, respectively, for a 120-Hz bandwidth are demonstrated. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America

Compact solid-state laser source for 1S-2S spectroscopy in atomic hydrogen

We demonstrate a novel compact solid-state laser source for high-resolution two-photon spectroscopy of the $1S-2S$ transition in atomic hydrogen. The source emits up to 20 mW at 243 nm and consists of a 972 nm diode laser, a tapered amplifier, and two doubling stages. The diode laser is actively stabilized to a high-finesse cavity. We compare the new source to the stable 486 nm dye laser used in previous experiments and record 1S-2S spectra using both systems. With the solid-state laser system we demonstrate a resolution of the hydrogen spectrometer of 6 \times 10^{11} which is promising for a number of high-precision measurements in hydrogen-like systems

Long-path monitoring of NO2 with a 635 nm diode laser using frequency-modulation spectroscopy

In situ monitoring of traffic-generated nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions using long-path absorption spectroscopy is reported. High-sensitivity detection of NO2 is achieved by employing two-tone frequencymodulation spectroscopy at a visible absorption band using a tunable high-power diode laser operated around 635 nm. A real-time absorption spectrometer is accomplished by repetitively applying a rectangular current pulse to the diode-laser operating current, allowing detection of isolated NO2 absorption lines. A detection limit of 10 mu g/m(3) for NO2 at atmospheric pressure using a 160 m absorption path is demonstrated. Continuous monitoring of NO2 over a road intersection at peak traffic is performed

Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy measurements of Acetone concentration

This research has been partly supported by the National Research Programme "The next generation of information and communication technologies" (NexIT).The Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy system for medical applications is created and first results for detection of acetone are shown. The acetone concentration was measured in the air. In the system a pulsed 1 kHz 266 nm DPSS laser with pulse length of 10 ns is coupled in a gas cell with high reflectivity mirror.Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART²http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/810/1/012036/pd

Analysis of gas dispersed in scattering media

Monitoring of free gas embedded in scattering media, such as wood, fruits, and synthetic materials, is demonstrated by use of diode laser spectroscopy combined with sensitive modulation techniques. Gas detection is made possible by the contrast of the narrow absorptive feature of the free-gas molecules with the slow wavelength dependence of the absorption and scattering cross sections in solids and liquids. An absorption sensitivity of 2.5 x 10(-4), corresponding to a 1.25-mm air column, is demonstrated by measurements of dispersed molecular oxygen. These techniques open up new possibilities for characterization and diagnostics, including internal gas pressure and gas-exchange assessment, in organic and synthetic materials. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America. OCIS codes: 300.6360, 290.7050, 290.5820, 170.3660, 020.3690, 160.4890

Angular momentum spatial distribution symmetry breaking in Rb by an external magnetic field

Excited state angular momentum alignment -- orientation conversion for atoms with hyperfine structure in presence of an external magnetic field is investigated. Transversal orientation in these conditions is reported for the first time. This phenomenon occurs under Paschen Back conditions at intermediate magnetic field strength. Weak radiation from a linearly polarized diode laser is used to excite Rb atoms in a cell. The laser beam is polarized at an angle of pi/4 with respect to the external magnetic field direction. Ground state hyperfine levels of the 5S_1/2 state are resolved using laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy under conditions for which all excited 5P_3/2 state hyperfine components are excited simultaneously. Circularly polarized fluorescence is observed to be emitted in the direction perpendicular to both to the direction of the magnetic field B and direction of the light polarization E. The obtained circularity is shown to be in quantitative agreement with theoretical predictions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.