No Arabic abstract
We present an all-solid-state laser source emitting up to 2.1 W of single-frequency light at 671 nm developed for laser cooling of lithium atoms. It is based on a diode-pumped, neodymium-doped orthovanadate (Nd:YVO$_4$) ring laser operating at 1342 nm. Optimization of the thermal management in the gain medium results in a maximum multi-frequency output power of 2.5 W at the fundamental wavelength. We develop a simple theory for the efficient implementation of intracavity second harmonic generation, and its application to our system allows us to obtain nonlinear conversion efficiencies of up to 88%. Single-mode operation and tuning is established by adding an etalon to the resonator. The second-harmonic wavelength can be tuned over 0.5 nm, and mode-hop-free scanning over more than 6 GHz is demonstrated, corresponding to around ten times the laser cavity free spectral range. The output frequency can be locked with respect to the lithium $D$-line transitions for atomic physics applications. Furthermore, we observe parametric Kerr-lens mode-locking when detuning the phase-matching temperature sufficiently far from the optimum value.
We present an all solid-state narrow line-width laser source emitting $670,mathrm{mW}$ output power at $671,mathrm{nm}$ delivered in a diffraction-limited beam. The linebreak source is based on a fre-quency-doubled diode-end-linebreak pumped ring laser operating on the ${^4F}_{3/2} rightarrow {^4I}_{13/2}$ transition in Nd:YVO$_4$. By using periodically-poled po-tassium titanyl phosphate (ppKTP) in an external build-up cavity, doubling efficiencies of up to 86% are obtained. Tunability of the source over $100,rm GHz$ is accomplished. We demonstrate the suitability of this robust frequency-stabilized light source for laser cooling of lithium atoms. Finally a simplified design based on intra-cavity doubling is described and first results are presented.
We demonstrate a compact laser source suitable for the trapping and cooling of potassium. By frequency doubling a fiber laser diode at 1534 nm in a waveguide, we produce 767 nm laser light. A current modulation of the diode allows to generate the two required frequencies for cooling in a simple and robust apparatus. We successfully used this laser source to trap ^39 K.
We develop a green light source with low spatial coherence via intracavity frequency doubling of a solid-state degenerate laser. The second harmonic emission supports many more transverse modes than the fundamental emission, and exhibit lower spatial coherence. A strong suppression of speckle formation is demonstrated for both fundamental and second harmonic beams. Using the green emission for fluorescence excitation, we show the coherent artifacts are removed from the full-field fluorescence images. The high power, low spatial coherence and good directionality makes the green degenerate laser an attractive illumination source for parallel imaging and projection display.
We present a laser frequency comb based upon a 250 MHz mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser that spans more than 300 terahertz of bandwidth, from 660 nm to 2000 nm. The system generates 1.2 nJ, 70 fs pulses at 1050 nm by amplifying the 1580 nm laser light in Er:fiber, followed by nonlinear broadening to 1050 nm and amplification in Yb:fiber. Extension of the frequency comb into the visible is achieved by supercontinuum generation from the 1050 nm light. Comb coherence is verified with cascaded f-2f interferometry and comparison to a frequency stabilized laser.
We present a narrow linewidth continuous laser source with over 11 Watts of output power at 780nm, based on single-pass frequency doubling of an amplified 1560nm fibre laser with 36% efficiency. This source offers a combination of high power, simplicity, mode quality and stability. Without any active stabilization, the linewidth is measured to be below 10kHz. The fibre seed is tunable over 60GHz, which allows access to the D2 transitions in 87Rb and 85Rb, providing a viable high-power source for laser cooling as well as for large-momentum-transfer beamsplitters in atom interferometry. Sources of this type will pave the way for a new generation of high flux, high duty-cycle degenerate quantum gas experiments.