Stabilization of two diode laser wavelengths using photorefractive gratings

Abstract

We propose to demonstrate a method of stabilizing the wavelengths of two diode lasers through the use of two photorefractive volume gratings. The two photorefractive gratings recorded at a visible line from an argon ion laser in one LiNbO3 crystal are designed to be Bragg matched for the counterpropagating reflections at infrared wavelengths. The two diode lasers are stabilized at the center wavelengths of the counterpropagating reflections of the two gratings. The stabilized wavelengths and the synthetic wavelength exhibit good short- and long-term stabilities. By using photorefractive crystal, we can effectively control the separation of the stabilized wavelengths. The thermal stability of the photorefractive gratings and the thermal stability of the synthetic wavelength are discussed.