Optical frequency combs (OFCs) provide a convenient reference for the frequency stabilization of continuous-wave lasers. We demonstrate a frequency control method relying on tracking over a wide range and stabilizing the beat note between the laser and the OFC. The approach combines fast frequency ramps on a millisecond timescale in the entire mode-hop free tuning range of the laser and precise stabilization to single frequencies. We apply it to a commercially available optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and demonstrate tuning over more than 60 GHz with a ramping speed up to 3 GHz/ms. Frequency ramps spanning 15 GHz are performed in less than 10 ms, with the OPO instantly relocked to the OFC after the ramp at any desired frequency. The developed control hardware and software are able to stabilize the OPO to sub-MHz precision and to perform sequences of fast frequency ramps automatically.
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Fast, precise, and widely tunable frequency control of an optical parametric oscillator referenced to a frequency comb
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March 2017
Research Article|
March 01 2017
Fast, precise, and widely tunable frequency control of an optical parametric oscillator referenced to a frequency comb
Alexander Prehn;
Alexander Prehn
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik
, Hans-Kopfermann-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
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Rosa Glöckner;
Rosa Glöckner
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik
, Hans-Kopfermann-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
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Gerhard Rempe;
Gerhard Rempe
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik
, Hans-Kopfermann-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
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Martin Zeppenfeld
Martin Zeppenfeld
a)
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik
, Hans-Kopfermann-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
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a)
Electronic mail: Martin.Zeppenfeld@mpq.mpg.de.
Rev. Sci. Instrum. 88, 033101 (2017)
Article history
Received:
December 12 2016
Accepted:
February 07 2017
Citation
Alexander Prehn, Rosa Glöckner, Gerhard Rempe, Martin Zeppenfeld; Fast, precise, and widely tunable frequency control of an optical parametric oscillator referenced to a frequency comb. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 1 March 2017; 88 (3): 033101. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4977049
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