Mid-infrared laser phase-locking to a remote near-infrared frequency reference for high-precision molecular spectroscopy

We present a method for accurate mid-infrared frequency measurements and stabilization to a near-infrared ultra-stable frequency reference, transmitted with a long-distance fibre link and continuously monitored against state-of-the-art atomic fountain clocks. As a first application, we measure the f...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: B Chanteau, O Lopez, W Zhang, D Nicolodi, B Argence, F Auguste, M Abgrall, C Chardonnet, G Santarelli, B Darquié, Y Le Coq, A Amy-Klein
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2013-01-01
Series:New Journal of Physics
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/15/7/073003
Description
Summary:We present a method for accurate mid-infrared frequency measurements and stabilization to a near-infrared ultra-stable frequency reference, transmitted with a long-distance fibre link and continuously monitored against state-of-the-art atomic fountain clocks. As a first application, we measure the frequency of an OsO _4 rovibrational molecular line around 10  μ m with an uncertainty of 8 × 10 ^−13 . We also demonstrate the frequency stabilization of a mid-infrared laser with fractional stability better than 4 × 10 ^−14 at 1 s averaging time and a linewidth below 17 Hz. This new stabilization scheme gives us the ability to transfer frequency stability in the range of 10 ^−15 or even better, currently accessible in the near infrared or in the visible, to mid-infrared lasers in a wide frequency range.
ISSN:1367-2630