A narrow linewidth diode laser system for strontium laser cooling applications.

摘要

The diode laser system for laser cooling on the 1S 0 → 3P1 intercombination line of strontium discussed in this thesis allows us to cool and trap an atomic strontium sample to 15 muK. Samples in this temperature range are useful for the development of the next generation of atomic frequency standards, cold collision studies, and as a step towards quantum degeneracy. This laser system consists of a Littrow configuration external-cavity diode laser, which is frequency locked to a high finesse cavity. The cavity is subsequently locked to an absorption feature to produce a few mW of tunable, stabilized, single mode power at the target wavelength. We present the design and characterization of this system, including a linewidth measurement of 70 kHz, as well as preliminary results from cooling and trapping.