Abstract
We describe the realization and characterization of a compact, autonomous fiber laser system that produces the optical frequencies required for laser cooling, trapping, manipulation, and detection of 87Rb atoms - a typical atomic species for emerging quantum technologies. This device, a customized laser system from the Muquans company, is designed for use in the challenging operating environment of the Laboratoire Souterrain à Bas Bruit (LSBB) in France, where a new large scale atom interferometer is being constructed underground - the MIGA antenna. The mobile bench comprises four frequency-agile C-band Telecom diode lasers that are frequency doubled to 780 nm after passing through high-power fiber amplifiers. The first laser is frequency stabilized on a saturated absorption signal via lock-in amplification, which serves as an optical frequency reference for the other three lasers via optical phase-locked loops. Power and polarization stability are maintained through a series of custom, flexible micro-optic splitter/combiners that contain polarization optics, acousto-optic modulators, and shutters. Here, we show how the laser system is designed, showcasing qualities such as reliability, stability, remote control, and flexibility, while maintaining the qualities of laboratory equipment. We characterize the laser system by measuring the power, polarization, and frequency stability. We conclude with a demonstration using a cold atom source from the MIGA project and show that this laser system fulfills all requirements for the realization of the antenna.
Highlights
Large research infrastructures require the production of customized, well-engineered equipment to meet demanding scientific requirements, and for use in environmental conditions that often goes beyond standard laboratory ones
We use lasers tuned to 1560 nm, which, when frequency doubled through a periodically-poled Lithium Niobate (PPLN) crystal to 780 nm, are capable of cooling, trapping, and manipulating atomic Rubidium
We have designed and tested a laser system intended for the use of quantum technologies in a research infrastructure operating in a challenging environment
Summary
Large research infrastructures require the production of customized, well-engineered equipment to meet demanding scientific requirements, and for use in environmental conditions that often goes beyond standard laboratory ones. The schemes developed in these experiments form a core technology under the auspice of emerging quantum technologies, as a new type of deployable sensor - atom interferometry is being applied to inertial navigation[53,54,55], space and satellite missions[56,57,58,59], mineral prospecting[60,61], and civil engineering[62] These applications require, and have led to, the development of reliable, stable, mobile, and compact laser systems to control, manipulate, and measure the atomic samples under varying environmental conditions; these devices have increasingly relied upon frequency doubling of stable C-band telecommunications lasers and the related developments to make such lasers rugged and reliable[63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72]. The laser system has the dimensions 117 cm × 80 cm × 55 cm, requires 100–240 VAC at 50–60 Hz for 300 W max power, and weighs ≃150 kg
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