Apparatus and method for stabilizing the frequency of lasers
US7583711B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 17, 2006 |
| Grant date | Sep 1, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 13, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/137
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Method and apparatus are disclosed that enable lasers to be stabilized in absolute frequency to high precision. The principle of operation is to: 1) lock the laser frequency to an etalon transmission resonance, 2) phase modulate the laser beam at a frequency corresponding to the free spectral range of the etalon and lock the phase modulated sidebands to the etalon resonances, and 3) lock the etalon free spectral range frequency to a stable reference frequency derived from, e.g., a stable crystal oscillator. The result is that the laser frequency is locked to an integer multiple of the reference frequency. The invention has applicability to numerous situations where a stable frequency must be provided at a specific value, and has further applicability to stabilizing multiple lasers in different locations to the same value.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.