Slow light frequency reference cavities—proof of concept for reducing the frequency sensitivity due to length fluctuations
Length changes due to thermo-mechanical noise originating from, for example, Brownian motion are a key limiting factor of present day state-of-the-art laser frequency stabilization using Fabry–Pérot cavities. We present a laser-frequency stabilization concept using an optical cavity with a strong sl...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | New Journal of Physics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ac5932 |
| Summary: | Length changes due to thermo-mechanical noise originating from, for example, Brownian motion are a key limiting factor of present day state-of-the-art laser frequency stabilization using Fabry–Pérot cavities. We present a laser-frequency stabilization concept using an optical cavity with a strong slow-light effect to reduce the impact of cavity length changes on the frequency stability. The resulting noise-reduction factor is proportional to the ratio between the light phase and group velocities in the highly dispersive cavity spacer. We experimentally demonstrate a proof-of-principle implementation of this laser-frequency stabilization technique using a rare-earth doped crystalline cavity spacer in conjunction with semi-permanent spectral tailoring to achieve precise control of the dispersive properties of the cavity. Compared to the same setup in the absence of the slow-light effect a reduction in frequency sensitivity of four orders of magnitude was achieved. |
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| ISSN: | 1367-2630 |