A Compact and Reliable 780nm Laser for Atom Cooling On-board a 6U CubeSat

摘要

The design and performance of a compact laser system for autonomous cooling of rubidium atoms in a small Cube-Satsatellite is described. The laser system is suitable for use in cold atom interferometers that are deployed in space foraccurate observation of earth’s gravity and magnetic fields and detection of tectonic changes. The laser system features afrequency doubled DFB laser and erbium doped amplifier, which is mainly fabricated from telecommunicationsqualified components with proven high reliability. The laser has an output power of greater than 75mW with a sub-MHzlinewidth and a tuning range of greater than 300GHz. The laser and drive electronics fit into a 200mm × 100mm ×30mm package and have a mass of less than 1kg. On-board the CubeSat the laser has been used to demonstrate atomcooling and to autonomously acquire and lock to the magneto-optical trap using feedback from the cold Rb-atomfluorescence to control the dfb laser frequency. The complete cube-sat has passed vibration tests for rocket launchedconditions.