2.1-watts intracavity-frequency-doubled all-solid-state light source at 671 nm for laser cooling of lithium

Abstract

We present an all-solid-state laser source emitting up to 2.1 W of single-frequency light at 671 nm developed for laser cooling of lithium atoms. It is based on a diode-pumped, neodymium-doped orthovanadate (Nd:YVO${}_4$) ring laser operating at 1342 nm. Optimization of the thermal management in the gain medium results in a maximum multi-frequency output power of 2.5 W at the fundamental wavelength. We develop a simple theory for the efficient implementation of intracavity second harmonic generation, and its application to our system allows us to obtain nonlinear conversion efficiencies of up to 88%. Single-mode operation and tuning is established by adding an etalon to the resonator. The second-harmonic wavelength can be tuned over 0.5 nm, and mode-hop-free scanning over more than 6 GHz is demonstrated, corresponding to around ten times the laser cavity free spectral range. The output frequency can be locked with respect to the lithium $D$-line transitions for atomic physics applications. Furthermore, we observe parametric Kerr-lens mode-locking when detuning the phase-matching temperature sufficiently far from the optimum value.

References in corpus (6)

• Feshbach Resonances in Ultracold Gases
• Theory of ultracold Fermi gases
• Atom Interferometry with up to 24-Photon-Momentum-Transfer Beam Splitters
• Sub-Doppler laser cooling of fermionic 40K atoms in three-dimensional gray optical molasses
• Atom interferometry measurement of the electric polarizability of lithium
• An all-solid-state laser source at 671 nm for cold atom experiments with lithium

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Λ-enhanced Sub-Doppler Cooling of Lithium Atoms in D1 Gray Molasses
• Simultaneous sub-Doppler laser cooling of fermionic ${}^6$Li and ${}^{40}$K on the D${}_1$ line: Theory and Experiment
• A self-injected, diode-pumped, solid-state ring laser for laser cooling of Li atoms
• Development of a 671 nm injection-locked CW Ti:sapphire laser