Frequency stabilization of a diode laser using simultaneous optical feedback from a diffraction grating and a narrowband Fabry–Perot cavity

Abstract

We present a system which uses optical feedback from a diffraction grating to provide primary control over the frequency tuning of a diode laser, and employs simultaneous optical feedback from a narrowband Fabry–Perot cavity to reduce the linewidth. The frequencies of the optical feedback from the diffraction grating and narrowband cavity are electronically locked using a novel technique. The reduction in the linewidth is measured as a reduction in the frequency noise seen on the side of a Cs-saturated absorption line. The presence of optical feedback from the narrowband cavity reduces the frequency noise by a factor of 3 compared to the frequency noise obtained using the grating feedback alone.