Home › Content

A medium-finesse optical cavity for the stabilization of Rydberg lasers

Thu, 2017-06-22 10:10 - Robert Spreeuw
Printer-friendly versionSend by emailPDF version
Date: 
2017-05-12
Author(s): 

JULIUS DE HOND, NATALY CISTERNAS, GRAHAM LOCHEAD, AND N.J. VAN DRUTEN

Reference: 

arxiv:1705.04684

URL: 

https://arxiv.org/abs/1705.07685

We describe the design, construction, and characterization of a medium-finesse Fabry–Pérot 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 (≈ 10 kHz) is desired. The cavity, with a finesse of ≈ 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.