A compact, robust, and transportable ultra-stable laser with a fractional frequency instability of 1 × 10{sup −15}
- Institut für Experimentalphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf (Germany)
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Bundesallee 100, 38116 Braunschweig (Germany)
We present a compact and robust transportable ultra-stable laser system with minimum fractional frequency instability of 1 × 10{sup −15} at integration times between 1 and 10 s. The system was conceived as a prototype of a subsystem of a microwave-optical local oscillator to be used on the satellite mission Space-Time Explorer and QUantum Equivalence Principle Space Test (STE-QUEST) ( http://sci.esa.int/ste-quest/ ). It was therefore designed to be compact, to sustain accelerations occurring during rocket launch, to exhibit low vibration sensitivity, and to reach a low frequency instability. Overall dimensions of the optical system are 40 cm × 20 cm × 30 cm. The acceleration sensitivities of the optical frequency in the three directions were measured to be 1.7 × 10{sup −11}/g, 8.0 × 10{sup −11}/g, and 3.9 × 10{sup −10}/g, and the absolute frequency instability was determined via a three-cornered hat measurement. Two additional cavity-stabilized lasers were used for this purpose, one of which had an instability σ{sub y} < 4 × 10{sup −16} at 1 s integration time. The design is also appropriate and useful for terrestrial applications.
- OSTI ID:
- 22392219
- Journal Information:
- Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 85, Issue 11; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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