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Optically stabilized tunable diode-laser system for saturation spectroscopy

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Abstract

We present an optically stabilized lead-salt diode-laser system which is the nucleus of a very-high-resolution instrument for sub-Doppler molecular spectroscopy in the mid-infrared. By application of external optical feedback, we have narrowed the diode-laser linewidth by two orders of magnitude, yielding a spectral width of less than 200 kHz. The diode- laser frequency is stabilized and controlled via the external reflector by variable-frequency offset-locking the diode-laser to a CO laser frequency. This substantial improvement in the spectral properties enabled us to perform a Lamb-dip experiment on a carbonyl sulfide (OCS) absorption line near 1985 cm−1. We were able to detect a saturated dispersion signal at low pressure (5 Pa) with a signal-to-noise ratio of several thousand. The present paper describes the unique features of the optically stabilized tunable diode-laser system and its use as a spectroscopic tool for sub-Doppler applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Angewandte Physik der Universität Bonn, Wegelerstrasse 8, D-53115, Bonn, Germany

    M. Mürtz, M. Schaefer & W. Urban

  2. Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Université Paris-Nord, Avénue J.-B. Clément, F-93430, Villetaneuse, France

    T. George

  3. Time and Frequency Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 325 Broadway, 80303, Boulder, CO, USA

    J. S. Wells

Authors
  1. M. Mürtz
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  2. M. Schaefer
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  3. T. George
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  4. J. S. Wells
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  5. W. Urban
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Mürtz, M., Schaefer, M., George, T. et al. Optically stabilized tunable diode-laser system for saturation spectroscopy. Appl. Phys. B 60, 31–37 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01082069

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01082069

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