Compact diffraction grating laser wavemeter for cold atom experiments

Abstract

We present an innovative and practical scheme of building a miniaturized wavemeter, with the advantages of low cost, high reliability and simple structure. Through a calibration test by a 780 nm external cavity diode laser (ECDL), the results show that our system gets a wavelength resolution of better than 1 pm, measurement accuracy of better than 2 pm (corresponding to a frequency of 1 GHz), and a measurement range of 8.5 nm. Finally, the multi-mode comparison test between our system and a commercial spectrum analyzer further indicates the high-precision, miniaturization and low cost of the proposed system, which shows that it is particularly suitable for ECDL and atom cooling and trapping experiments. The system design, experimental results and conclusions are of definite significance as a fine reference for other ranges of wavelength.