Laser Power Stability Research Articles

Passive laser power stabilization in a broadband noise spectrum via a second-harmonic generator.

An extremely conspicuous passive power noise stabilization is the first, to the best of our knowledge, discovered in a cavity-enhanced second-harmonic generation (SHG) process. Differing from the SHG as a buffer reservoir, the stronger strength of the nonlinear interaction pushes the power noise suppression level to a higher value and exhibits a broadband noise reduction performance due to the mechanism of dynamic pump suppression in the SHG process. The noise is suppressed to near shot noise limit (SNL) among the kHz to MHz frequency range, accompanied by a maximum noise reduction of 35 dB. A comprehensive demonstration indicates that the nonlinear interaction has no function on the phase noise of fundamental and harmonic waves. A theoretical model is also established that is consistent well with the experimental results. The methodology is beneficial to multiple optical metrology experiments.

Laser power stabilization system based on variable universe fuzzy proportional‐integral‐differential

AbstractA variable universe fuzzy proportional‐integral‐differential (PID) algorithm was designed and first application for a laser power stabilization system. To validate the algorithm's effectiveness, it is applied to the simulation model of Simulink and the experimental system based on an acousto‐optic modulator. The results demonstrate that the variable universe fuzzy PID presents higher control precision, better robustness, and can suppress long‐term drift phenomena compared with the traditional feedback control algorithm. The algorithm design method in this paper has significant reference and guidance value for laser power stabilization system.

Evaluation of laser power stability of repeatedly used SubCyclo probe in micropulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation for glaucoma: A step towards sustainable ophthalmic surgery

Purpose To evaluate the laser power stability of the SubCyclo probe for micropulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation after repeated use. Materials and methods This experimental study involved 6 new probes. Each probe was connected to the SubCyclo mode (2,000 mW power, 31.3% duty cycle, and 100 seconds duration) of the Vitra 810 laser delivery system (Quantel Medical, France). Laser power measurements were taken using a calibrated laser power meter (Nova, Ophir Optronics Solutions, Israel) every 10 seconds from 10 to 90 seconds during each of the 40 cycles. Intra-rater reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation (ICC). A linear mixed model for repeated measures and pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni adjustment were used for the analysis. Results The mean (SD) power outputs of all probes for the first cycle and all cycles were 421.9 (19.7) mW and 436.7 (16.1) mW, respectively. During the first cycle, the mean (SD) laser power gradually decreased from 444.3 (13.4) mW at 10 seconds to 407.3 (17.0) mW at 90 seconds (Fig 3). For all cycles, the power was 446.0 (13.6) mW at 10 seconds and gradually declined to 426.8 (21.0) mW at 90 seconds. Pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences in mean laser power outputs after 16 cycles of repeated use compared to the first cycle. The ICC estimate (95% CI) for intra-rater reliability was 0.96 (0.89, 0.99). Conclusions The SubCyclo probe maintains stable laser power outputs throughout repeated use for up to 16 cycles, with a significant increase observed after 16 cycles.

Tunable and stable single-frequency fiber laser by applying Rayleigh feedback light and saturable absorber filter

In this study, a stable and tunable erbium-doped fiber (EDF) ring laser architecture is demonstrated. To filter the dense longitudinal-mode noises and achieve the single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) performance, the Rayleigh backscattering (RB) feedback injection and unpumped EDF saturable absorber (SA) induced filter is applied inside the ring cavity. Here, an effective wavelength-selection scale of the EDF laser is achieved between 1528.0 and 1576.0 nm, when C-band EDF based gain-medium is utilized. Additionally, the wavelength linewidth, optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR), output power and output stability of the fiber laser are also discussed over the available wavelength range in the measurement.

Pulsed-CPT Cs-Ne microcell atomic clock with frequency stability below 2 × 10-12 at 105 s.

We report on the mid-term stability progress of a table-top coherent population trapping (CPT) microcell atomic clock, previously limited by light-shift effects and variations of the cell's inner atmosphere. The light-shift contribution is now mitigated through the use of a pulsed symmetric auto-balanced Ramsey (SABR) interrogation technique, combined with setup temperature, laser power, and microwave power stabilization. In addition, Ne buffer gas pressure variations in the cell are now greatly reduced through the use of a micro-fabricated cell built with low permeation alumino-silicate glass (ASG) windows. Combining these approaches, the clock Allan deviation is measured to be 1.4 × 10-12 at 105 s. This stability level at one day is competitive with the best current microwave microcell-based atomic clocks.

Trace photoacoustic SO2 gas sensor in SF6 utilizing a 266 nm UV laser and an acousto-optic power stabilizer.

A sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas sensor based on the photoacoustic spectroscopy technology in a sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas matrix was demonstrated for SF6 decomposition components monitoring in the power system. A passive Q-switching laser diode (LD) pumped all-solid-state 266 nm deep-ultraviolet laser was exploited as the laser excitation source. The photoacoustic signal amplitude is linear related to the incident optical power, whereas, a random laser power jitter is inevitable since the immature laser manufacturing technology in UV spectral region. A compact laser power stabilization system was developed for better sensor performance by adopting a photodetector, a custom-made internal closed-loop feedback controller and a Bragg acousto-optic modulator (AOM). The out-power stability of 0.04% was achieved even though the original power stability was 0.41% for ∼ 2 hours. A differential two-resonator photoacoustic cell (PAC) was designed for weak photoacoustic signal detection. The special physical constants of SF6 buffer gas induced a high-Q factor of 85. A detection limit of 140 ppbv was obtained after the optimization, which corresponds to a normalized noise equivalent absorption coefficient of 3.2 × 10-9 cm-1WHz-1/2.

Output Power and Temperature Stability of Semiconductor Laser Based on STM32

Output Power and Temperature Stability of Semiconductor Laser Based on STM32

Optical forces on neutral atoms in the presence of fluctuating laser fields: numerical analysis

Doppler cooling of 88Sr atoms is studied in the presence of off-resonant red-detuned fluctuating laser fields. Using a semi-classical approach, we show that the relevant physical quantities in the cooling process, such as optical forces, the damping coefficient, Doppler temperature, and atom number in the trap, are strongly affected by the laser amplitude and phase fluctuations. We find that the Doppler cooling limit is higher than the predicted Doppler theory for non-fluctuating lasers. This implies an additional heating mechanism exists due to the laser fluctuations. Furthermore, our numerical analysis shows that the effect of laser power stability on reducing the number of trapped atoms in a magneto-optical trap is more substantial than the effect of laser linewidth.

Parallel trapping of multiple nanoparticles using a quasi-bound state in the continuum mode

In this work, we put forward an all-dielectric nanotweezer using a quasi-bound state in the continuum (quasi-BIC) mode to trap nanoparticles with a radius of 10 nm. The quasi-BIC mode provides not only a very high electric field enhancement but also a high quality factor ( Q -factor), which gives it potential for the trapping of nanoparticles with low laser power and high stability. The simulation results show that when the input intensity is 1 m W / µ m 2 , the maximum optical trapping force of the 10 nm particles is 2.24 pN, and the maximum trapping potential is 29.08 k B T . Furthermore, the proposed nanotweezer array provides multiple optical hotspots with high field confinement and enhancement, resulting in multiple trapping sites for the parallel trapping of multiple nanoparticles. The high-throughput trapping of nanoparticles provides a good foundation for studying biological cells and protein molecules, especially for the heterogeneity of cells and the large-scale parallel analyses of basic drugs.

CO2 laser heating system for in situ radial x-ray absorption at 16-BM-D at the Advanced Photon Source.

We present a portable CO2 laser heating system for in situ x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) studies at 16-BM-D (High Pressure Collaborative Access Team, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory). Back scattering optical measurements are made possible by the implementation of a Ge beamsplitter. Optical pyrometry is conducted in the near-infrared, and our temperature measurements are free of chromatic aberration due to the implementation of the peak-scaling method [A. Kavner and W. R. Panero, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 143-144, 527-539 (2004) and A. Kavner and C. Nugent, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 79, 024902 (2008)] and mode scrambling of the input signal. Laser power stabilization is established using electronic feedback, providing a steady power over second timescales [Childs etal., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 91, 103003 (2020)]-crucial for longer XAS collections. Examples of in situ high pressure-temperature extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements of ZrO2 are presented to demonstrate this new capability.

Suppression of laser power error in a miniaturized atomic co-magnetometer based on split ratio optimization

A miniaturized atomic spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) co-magnetometer measures angular velocity using a balanced polarimetry technique which is easily affected by the laser power. A laser power closed-loop control system is usually used to suppress the fluctuation of the laser power. Although this method can greatly eliminate the fluctuation of the in-loop laser power (the feedback laser), it cannot fully eliminate the fluctuation of the out-of-loop laser power (the signal measurement laser). This leads to SERF gyroscope laser power error, which reduces the inertial measurement accuracy. In this paper, the influence mechanism of the split ratio (the ratio of the in-loop laser power to the out-of-loop laser power) on the out-of-loop laser power control accuracy is analyzed by establishing a laser power transmission model inside and outside the loop. Moreover, a method is developed to improve the out-of-loop laser power stability by optimizing the split ratio. Comparative experiments showed that the relative Allan standard deviation of the out-of-loop laser power decreased from 5.48 × 10−6 to 2.62 × 10−6 at 100 s, and decreased by an order of magnitude from 1.76 × 10−5 to 3.30 × 10−6 at 1000 s. Correspondingly, the rate ramp coefficient in the Allan standard deviation curve of the SERF gyroscope test data decreased from 1.312 [(°/h)/h] to 0.246 [(°/h)/h]. And the bias stability increased from 0.032 °/h to 0.019 °/h. Therefore, the proposed method can improve the long-term stability of the probe laser power and effectively suppress the laser power error of the SERF gyroscope.

Analysis and Suppression of Laser Intensity Fluctuation in a Dual-Beam Optical Levitation System.

Levitated micro-resonators in vacuums have attracted widespread attention due to their application potential in precision force sensing, acceleration sensing, mass measurement and gravitational wave sensing. The optically levitated microsphere in a counter-propagating dual-beam optical trap has been of particular interest because of its large measurement range and flexible manipulation. In this system, laser intensity fluctuation directly influences the trap stability and measurement sensitivity, which makes it a crucial factor in improving trapping performance. In this paper, a time-varying optical force (TVOF) model is established to characterize the influence of laser intensity fluctuation in a dual-beam optical trap. The model describes the relationship between the laser intensity fluctuation, optical force and the dynamic motion of the micro-sized sphere. In addition, an external laser intensity control method is proposed, which achieved a 16.9 dB laser power stability control at the relaxation oscillation frequency. The long-term laser intensity fluctuation was suppressed from 3% to 0.4% in a one-hour period. Experiments showed that the particle’s position detection sensitivity and the stability of the relaxation oscillation could be improved by laser intensity fluctuation suppression.

Passive laser power stabilization via an optical spring.

Metrology experiments can be limited by the noise produced by the laser involved via small fluctuations in the laser's power or frequency. Typically, active power stabilization schemes consisting of an in-loop sensor and a feedback control loop are employed. Those schemes are fundamentally limited by shot noise coupling at the in-loop sensor. In this Letter, we propose to use the optical spring effect to passively stabilize the classical power fluctuations of a laser beam. In a proof of principle experiment, we show that the relative power noise of the laser is stabilized from approximately 2 × 10-5 Hz-1/2 to a minimum value of 1.6 × 10-7 Hz-1/2, corresponding to the power noise reduction by a factor of 125. The bandwidth at which stabilization occurs ranges from 400 Hz to 100 kHz. The work reported in this Letter further paves the way for high power laser stability techniques which could be implemented in optomechanical experiments and in gravitational wave detectors.

Modulation-free portable laser frequency and power stabilization system.

The performance of laser-based instruments heavily depends on the stability of their laser source. Some instruments, such as the Cs-4He magnetometer, even require the frequency stabilization and the power stabilization at the same time. In this work, we design a double-locking system with a fiber-coupled output on a small bread board and apply it to the pump laser of a Cs-4He magnetometer. By carefully choosing the stabilization methods, we significantly improve the long-term simultaneous stability of frequency and power of the pump laser. The laser frequency drifts in 2 h are reduced from 100 to 10 MHz. For 10 h continuous measurements, their Allan deviation obtains about two orders of magnitude improvement for the averaging time larger than 200 s and reaches σ(τ) = 1.57 × 10-9 with a 200 s averaging time. The laser power stability for 1.8 h also obtains two orders of magnitude improvement from 3.22% to 0.031%, and its power noise reaches a level that is very close to the electronic noise of the detector. Applying this stabilization system to the pump laser of a fiber-coupled Cs-4He magnetometer, its magnetic sensor noise is significantly reduced from 0.158 to 0.009 nT, which is a reasonable noise for magnetic field detection. With this on-board design of the laser stabilization system, it is more convenient to transform the magnetometer into an outdoor device.

Diffraction limited TEM00 527 nm Nd:YLF laser with 17.2 W average output and 1.5 kHz repetition rate

Scaling to a higher-power green laser with good beam quality is a challenge for meeting the requirements of different industrial applications. An acousto-optic Q-switched TEM00 mode Nd:YLF laser using the master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) technology is presented and demonstrated. Output power of 17.2 W and TEM00 mode laser of 527 nm at 1.5 kHz with a pulse energy of 11.5 mJ is achieved. The output green laser had a Gaussian spatial profile with beam quality factors of Mx2=1.07 and My2=1.15. Z-type end-pumping structures are used for the MOPA system to ensure laser power stability. The green laser power fluctuation is <0.3 % based on 4 h measurement data.

Suppression of ambient temperature-caused drift in a laser power stabilization system with a liquid crystal variable retarder in atomic gyroscopes.

Laser power stabilization systems with liquid crystal variable retarders have been employed in miniaturized atomic gyroscopes for the merits of low power consumption and easy integration. However, the long-term power drift of the system output with ambient temperature significantly decreases the long-term performance of atomic gyroscopes. Here, we demonstrated a method of dynamic closed-loop control based on the combination of optical power drift and ambient temperature modeling. For a continuous 45minoperation within an ambient temperature variation range of 23.7-25.3 °C, the relative Allan deviation of the output optical power was decreased by one order of magnitude from 2.29 × 10-4 to 3.35 × 10-5 after 100s averaging time. The long-term stability of the system was significantly improved. In addition, the scheme requires no additional thermal control device, preventing the introduction of extra electromagnetic interference, which is desirable in a miniaturized atomic gyroscope.

Frequency Synchronization and Coherent Combining of Two Fiber Ring Cavities

Low noise synchronization of the frequency and phase of a DFB fiber laser and two fiber ring cavities was achieved based on a two-channel optical injection lock and phase lock loop. Two-channel modulation signals of different frequencies were adopted to extract the phase noise signals of the two fiber ring cavities. Finally, the lasers from the two fiber ring cavities were coherently combined in the closed loop of the control system owing to the synchronous frequency and phase. The power stability and polarization stability of the combined laser was improved under the optical injection lock and phase lock loop. The phase noise of the two cavities was $6.56 \times 10^{-7}$ rad/Hz1/2 and $1.34 \times 10^{-6}$ rad/Hz1/2 at 10 Hz; and $7.77 \times 10^{-8}$ rad/Hz1/2 and $1.35 \times 10^{-7}$ rad/Hz1/2 at 10 kHz. The total combined power was ~580 mW in the closed loop, and the entire system oscillated under a single frequency, providing excellent power scaling ability.

One-thousandth-level laser power stabilization based on optical feedback from a well-designed high-split-ratio and nonpolarized beam splitter.

Laser power stabilization plays a significant role in atomic and molecular physics, quantum precision measurement, and optical sensing and measurement. In the classical method of using a feedback control loop to stabilize the laser power, the beam splitter is the conjunction element to connect the feedback beam inside the loop and the output beam outside the loop. The stability of its split ratio will directly affect the result of power stabilization, especially in demand of high split ratios for high-efficiency output. For the compatibility of a high split ratio and high stability in a power-stabilized system, we designed and manufactured a high-split-ratio nonpolarized plate beam splitter, whose split ratio was insensitive to variations of beam intensity, polarization, and ambient temperature. Based on the optical feedback of the designed beam splitter, the light intensity was closed-loop controlled by an acousto-optic modulator; finally, the power outside the loop was stabilized as well. The output power was stabilized at 537 mW and a 6 h long-term test was performed. The relative stability of laser power outside the loop in terms of root mean square and peak to peak was 2.72×10-4 and 1.60×10-3, respectively. The relative Allan standard deviation reached 2.78×10-5 at an average time of 200 s. These results will greatly benefit many practical fields that require laser power stabilization with high split ratios and one-thousandth-level stability.

Laser power stabilization via radiation pressure

Extremely stable laser sources are essential for high-precision experiments, such as interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Marina Trad Nery explains how to use radiation pressure to measure and stabilize power fluctuations in a laser beam.

Improving laser power stability with a photosensitive lens.

We propose a method to improve relative laser power stability using a passive photosensitive sunglass lens, which is a commercially available off-the-shelf product. We present a theoretical analysis and identify factors that affect the optimal working state of the lens. A relative laser power stability of 3.3 × 10-5 at 1s is experimentally achieved, which is more than three times that of 1.2 × 10-4 at 1s, acquired without power stabilization. This method does not require any active driving device, thereby significantly reducing the complexity and cost of the system, making it suitable for broad applications.