Operating a laser diode in an extended cavity which provides frequency-selective feedback is a very effective method of reducing the laser’s linewidth and improving its tunability. We have developed an extremely simple laser of this type, built from inexpensive commercial components with only a few minor modifications. A 780 nm laser built to this design has an output power of 80 mW, a linewidth of 350 kHz, and it has been continuously locked to a Doppler-free rubidium transition for several days.
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Throughout this article we provide details of the commercial components which we have used, in order to assist the reader who wishes to duplicate our system. Components from other manufacturers may of course deliver similar or better performance.
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© 1998 American Institute of Physics.
1998
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