EP1815588A2 - Procede et systeme d'exploitation d'un laser auto-module a une frequence hyperfine d'atome de metal alcalin - Google Patents

Procede et systeme d'exploitation d'un laser auto-module a une frequence hyperfine d'atome de metal alcalin

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Publication number
EP1815588A2
EP1815588A2 EP05857002A EP05857002A EP1815588A2 EP 1815588 A2 EP1815588 A2 EP 1815588A2 EP 05857002 A EP05857002 A EP 05857002A EP 05857002 A EP05857002 A EP 05857002A EP 1815588 A2 EP1815588 A2 EP 1815588A2
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
laser
vapor cell
light
gain media
hyperfine
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP05857002A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP1815588A4 (fr
Inventor
William Happer
Yuan-Yu Jau
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Princeton University
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Princeton University
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Publication date
Priority claimed from US11/052,261 external-priority patent/US7102451B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/284,064 external-priority patent/US7323941B1/en
Application filed by Princeton University filed Critical Princeton University
Publication of EP1815588A2 publication Critical patent/EP1815588A2/fr
Publication of EP1815588A4 publication Critical patent/EP1815588A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
    • H03L—AUTOMATIC CONTROL, STARTING, SYNCHRONISATION OR STABILISATION OF GENERATORS OF ELECTRONIC OSCILLATIONS OR PULSES
    • H03L7/00—Automatic control of frequency or phase; Synchronisation
    • H03L7/26—Automatic control of frequency or phase; Synchronisation using energy levels of molecules, atoms, or subatomic particles as a frequency reference
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04F—TIME-INTERVAL MEASURING
    • G04F5/00—Apparatus for producing preselected time intervals for use as timing standards
    • G04F5/14—Apparatus for producing preselected time intervals for use as timing standards using atomic clocks
    • G04F5/145—Apparatus for producing preselected time intervals for use as timing standards using atomic clocks using Coherent Population Trapping
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/05—Construction or shape of optical resonators; Accommodation of active medium therein; Shape of active medium
    • H01S3/08—Construction or shape of optical resonators or components thereof
    • H01S3/08018—Mode suppression
    • H01S3/08022—Longitudinal modes
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/10—Controlling the intensity, frequency, phase, polarisation or direction of the emitted radiation, e.g. switching, gating, modulating or demodulating
    • H01S3/106—Controlling the intensity, frequency, phase, polarisation or direction of the emitted radiation, e.g. switching, gating, modulating or demodulating by controlling devices placed within the cavity
    • H01S3/1061—Controlling the intensity, frequency, phase, polarisation or direction of the emitted radiation, e.g. switching, gating, modulating or demodulating by controlling devices placed within the cavity using a variable absorption device
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/10—Controlling the intensity, frequency, phase, polarisation or direction of the emitted radiation, e.g. switching, gating, modulating or demodulating
    • H01S3/11—Mode locking; Q-switching; Other giant-pulse techniques, e.g. cavity dumping
    • H01S3/1106—Mode locking
    • H01S3/1112—Passive mode locking
    • H01S3/1115—Passive mode locking using intracavity saturable absorbers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/10—Controlling the intensity, frequency, phase, polarisation or direction of the emitted radiation, e.g. switching, gating, modulating or demodulating
    • H01S3/13—Stabilisation of laser output parameters, e.g. frequency or amplitude
    • H01S3/1303—Stabilisation of laser output parameters, e.g. frequency or amplitude by using a passive reference, e.g. absorption cell
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/06—Arrangements for controlling the laser output parameters, e.g. by operating on the active medium
    • H01S5/062—Arrangements for controlling the laser output parameters, e.g. by operating on the active medium by varying the potential of the electrodes
    • H01S5/06226—Modulation at ultra-high frequencies
    • H01S5/0623—Modulation at ultra-high frequencies using the beating between two closely spaced optical frequencies, i.e. heterodyne mixing
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/06—Arrangements for controlling the laser output parameters, e.g. by operating on the active medium
    • H01S5/065—Mode locking; Mode suppression; Mode selection ; Self pulsating
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/06—Arrangements for controlling the laser output parameters, e.g. by operating on the active medium
    • H01S5/068—Stabilisation of laser output parameters
    • H01S5/0683—Stabilisation of laser output parameters by monitoring the optical output parameters
    • H01S5/0687—Stabilising the frequency of the laser
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
    • H01S5/10—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
    • H01S5/14—External cavity lasers
    • H01S5/141—External cavity lasers using a wavelength selective device, e.g. a grating or etalon

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of optically pumped atomic clocks, optically pumped atomic magnetometers, pulse laser systems, and more particularly to a laser that is self-modulated by alkali-metal vapor at 0-0 atomic-clock frequency by using light of alternating polarization referred to as push-pull optical pumping technique.
  • Gas-cell atomic clocks and magnetometers use optically pumped alkali-metal vapors.
  • Atomic clocks are applied in various systems that require extremely accurate frequency measurements.
  • Atomic magnetometers are utilized in magnetic field detection with extremely high sensitivity.
  • atomic clocks are used in GPS (global positioning system) satellites and other navigation systems, as well as in high-speed digital communication systems, scientific experiments, and military applications.
  • Magnetometers are used in medical systems, scientific experiments, industry and military applications.
  • a vapor cell used in atomic clocks or magnetometers contains a few droplets of alkali metal, such as potassium, rubidium, or cesium.
  • a buffer gas such as nitrogen, other noble gases, or a mixture thereof, is required to be filled inside the cell to match the spectral profile of the pumping light, suppress the radiation trapping, and diminish alkali- metal atoms diffusing to the cell wall.
  • the gas cell is heated up to above room temperature to produce sufficient alkali-metal vapor.
  • the resonances of alkali-metal ground-state hyperfine sublevels are especially useful for atomic clocks and atomic magnetometers.
  • the hyperfine resonance is excited by rf (radio frequency) fields, microwave fields, or modulated light (CPT: coherent population trapping method).
  • the resonance is probed by the laser beam.
  • hyperfine 0-0 resonance, voo is particularly interesting for atomic clocks because of its insensitivity of the magnetic field at low field regime; hyperfine end resonance, v end , can be used either for atomic clocks and magnetometers; the Zeeman end resonance, vz, is usually used for a magnetometer because of its high sensitivity of the magnetic field.
  • other resonances of different hyperfine sublevels can also be used for atomic clocks and magnetometers.
  • the resonance signal is reflected on the probing beam as a transmission dip or a transmission peak when the frequency is scanned through the resonance frequency.
  • an atomic clock or a magnetometer measures the frequency at the maximum response of the atomic resonance.
  • a local oscillator is required to generate the oscillation signal and excite the resonance.
  • the frequency of the local oscillator is locked to the peak resonance as shown in Fig. 2.
  • a precise clock ticking signal is therefore provided by the output of the local oscillator.
  • the development of atomic clocks and magnetometers is heading in the direction of low power consumption and compact size.
  • the CPT method has been introduced for the atomic clock to get rid of microwave cavity.
  • the conventional CPT method with fixed circularly polarized light and FM modulation suffers from the effects of population dilution and high buffer-gas pressure. Accordingly, it has a very small resonance signal.
  • the power consumption of a conventional passive atomic clock the local oscillator and the microwave circuitry can be a major draining source because of the complexity of the microwave circuitry and feedback loops of the passive-type atomic clocks.
  • relatively high power consumption can reduce the battery lifetime and therefore decrease the utility of the miniature atomic clock.
  • Push-Pull pumping can boost up the CPT signal by a significant factor and therefore effectively improve the performance of CPT atomic clocks.
  • the present invention provides a method and apparatus for operating atomic clocks or magnetometers without a local oscillator and without an electronic feed-back loop for stabilizing the local-oscillator frequency.
  • the atomic-clock signal is directly obtained from self- modulated laser light.
  • the method and system is based on the physics of a push-pull optical pumping technique using an alkali-metal vapor cell placed inside a laser cavity to modulate the laser light at the frequency of the hyperf ⁇ ne resonance.
  • a photonic gain medium such as laser diodes or other kinds, can amplify the photon flux at different optical frequencies.
  • optics may be needed to control the light polarization and the optical bandwidth.
  • a fast photodetector can convert the modulated light into the clock ticking signal in electrical form with some optics.
  • a laser is a positive feedback amplifier of photons.
  • An alkali-vapor cell inside the laser cavity operates similar to a photonic filter and converter to generate a special lasing mode, which produces the light modulation.
  • a laser tends to lase in an optical mode, which has the maximum gain or the minimum loss of photons from their round-trip inside the cavity.
  • the lasing spectrum is determined by the characteristics of the laser cavity and the gain profile. With a vapor cell inside the cavity, a steady lasing point is met while the lasing spectrum produces the maximum efficiency of push-pull optical pumping, which makes the vapor cell become the most transparent. At this point, the output laser light is modulated at hyperfine frequency.
  • the output laser light serves as an atomic-clock signal. If other magnetic field dependent resonances for light modulation are chosen, the output laser light serves as a magnetometer signal.
  • push-pull optical pumping can be used with Dl light of alkali-metal atoms, since D ⁇ pumping light has better efficiency for CPT excitation of ground-state hyperfine coherence of alkali-metal atoms. Push-pull pumping tends to excite the electron spin oscillation at the hyperfine frequency. The oscillation of the electron spin of the alkali-metal vapor can modulate the light intensity.
  • the light modulation from the vapor can be amplified by the gain medium, and it generates a steady push-pull pumping light.
  • the initial excitation of spin oscillation can be produced by the laser noise, laser instability, and the like.
  • Spontaneous push-pull pumping is generated if the round-trip gain of the push-pull pumping light is greater than one, thereby providing a self-modulated laser system.
  • Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a prior art passive, gas-cell, atomic clock system.
  • Fig. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for operating an atomic clock or magnetometer using a push-pull pumping technique.
  • Fig. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for operating a self-modulated laser in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.
  • Figs. 5A-5C are illustrative diagrams of hyperfine coherence as electron spin oscillation, the format of the push-pull pumping light at time domain, and the light absorption of the atomic vapor modulated by the spin oscillation.
  • Fig. 6 is an illustrative diagram of the spectrum of push-pull pumping light inside the vapor cell and the spectral response of the entire laser system.
  • Figs. 7A-7D are schematic diagrams of embodiments of cavity configurations for a laser modulated at hyperfine frequency.
  • Fig. 8 is a plot of simulation result of a diode-laser not modulated by the Rb cell using the configuration of Fig. 7 A when the gas cell has insufficient vapor density.
  • Fig. 9 is a plot of the simulation result of a diode-laser modulated by the 87 Rb cell using the configuration of Fig. 7A when the gas cell has sufficient vapor density.
  • Fig. 10 is a plot of the simulation result of a diode-laser modulated by the 133 Cs cell using the configuration of Fig. 7A when the gas cell has sufficient vapor density.
  • Fig. 1 1 is an illustrative animation of the laser intensity and electron spin of alkali- metal atoms when the laser is steadily modulated by the vapor cell.
  • Fig. 12 is a plot of the simulation result of a polarization-diverse laser diode modulated by the Rb cell using the configuration of Fig. 7D.
  • Fig. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for operating an atomic clock or magnetometer 10 using a push pull pumping technique in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.
  • block 1 atoms are generated in a vapor phase or in an atomic beam, their ground state split by the electron-nuclear hyperfine interaction.
  • the atomic vapor can be mixed with a buffer gas or gases, such as nitrogen or any of the noble gases, or a mixture thereof.
  • a weak external magnetic field is needed to define the quantization direction at the location of the atoms.
  • the quantum numbers F and m are used to label the ground-state sublevels of the alkali-metal atom.
  • F is a quantum number of the total spin, electron plus nuclear, of the atom, and m, is the azimuthal quantum number, the projection of the total spin along the direction of the magnetic field.
  • the alkali-metal atoms in the ground state are optically pumped with light of alternating polarization.
  • the light of alternating polarization provides photons having spin that alternates its direction at a hyperfine frequency of the atoms at the location of the atoms.
  • Light of alternating polarization is defined within the scope of this invention as an optical field, the electric field vector of which or some component thereof at the location of the atoms alternates at a hyperfine frequency of the atoms between rotating clockwise and rotating counter-clockwise in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field direction.
  • the polarization of the light interacting with the atoms alternates from magnetic right circular polarization (mRCP) to magnetic left circular polarization (mLCP).
  • mRCP light is defined as light for which the mean photon spin points along the direction of the magnetic field so that an absorbed photon increases the azimuthal angular momentum of the atom by 1 (in units of h).
  • mLCP is defined as light for which the mean photon spin points antiparallel to the direction of the magnetic field so that an absorbed photon decreases the azimuthal angular momentum of the atom by 1 (in units of h).
  • block 12 is performed by intensity or frequency modulating right circularly polarized (RCP) light at a repetition frequency equal to the frequency of the 0-0 resonance and combining it with similarly modulated left circularly polarized (LCP) light which is shifted or delayed relative to the RCP light by a half-integer multiple of the repetition period.
  • RCP right circularly polarized
  • LCP left circularly polarized
  • the light of alternating polarization is generated by combining two beams of mutually perpendicular linear polarizations, wherein optical frequencies of the beams differ from each other by a hyperfine frequency of the atoms.
  • the light of alternating polarization is generated by two counter- propagating beams that produce the electrical field vector at the location of the atoms which alternates at a hyperfine frequency of the atoms between rotating clockwise and rotating counter-clockwise in the plane perpendicular to the light propagation.
  • the light of alternating polarization is generated by a system of spectral lines, equally spaced in frequency by a hyperfine frequency of the atoms wherein each spectral line is linearly polarized and the polarizations of adjacent lines are mutually orthogonal.
  • the light of alternating polarization is generated by generating a sinusoidal intensity envelope of right circularly polarized light combined with a sinusoidal intensity envelope of left circularly polarized light that is shifted or delayed with respect to the right circularly polarized light by a half-integer multiple of a hyperfine period of the atoms .
  • detection of transmission of the light through the alkali-metal vapor is measured.
  • a photo detector can be used to measure transmission of the light through a glass cell containing the alkali-metal vapor and a buffer gas.
  • fluorescence of the alkali-metal vapor is measured.
  • atomic state of the alkali-metal atoms in an atomic beam is analyzed using standard methods. Push-pull optical pumping can be used to improve performance of gas-cell atomic clocks, atomic beam clocks, atomic fountain clocks and magnetometers.
  • Fig. 4 is a flow diagram of a method of operating a self-modulated laser 20 in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.
  • one or more photonic gain media and a vapor cell are provided within a laser cavity.
  • Example gain mediums include electronic pumped semiconductors, such as an edge-emitting laser diode or a vertical cavity surface emitting laser diode, or optically pumped gain media, such as a dye or a crystal.
  • Necessary optics can be provided for controlling light polarization and optic bandwidth. Optics can include wave plates, polarization filters, and optical filters.
  • hyperfine transitions of atoms within the vapor cell are excited by pumping them with light from said laser modulated at a hyperfine frequency.
  • a method and system for operating an atomic clock or magnetometer can include providing the self-modulated laser comprising gain media and vapor cell within a laser cavity and exciting hyperf ⁇ ne transitions within the vapor cell by pumping them with light from the laser modulated at a hyperfine frequency.
  • Figs. 5A-5C is an illustration of how electron spin interacts with the Dl pumping light, how the electron spin oscillation or precession is synchronized by the push-pull pumping, and how the electron spin modulates the light absorption of the alkali-metal vapor.
  • the Dl pumping light tends to align the orientation of electron spin shown in Fig. 5A with the orientation of the photon spin, 5 shown in Fig. 5B.
  • the pulse width of push-pull pumping light is determined by the buffer-gas pressure inside the vapor cell.
  • Fig. 6 describes the spectrum of push-pull pumping light at the frequency domain and also the spectral response of the self-modulated laser system.
  • the push-pull pumping light of 0-0 coherence can be described as an optical comb in the spectrum.
  • the optical comb refers to a plurality of peaks separated by voo-
  • the spacing of optical comb 30 is equal to the 0-0 hyperfine frequency.
  • Each optical peak of optical comb 30 is linearly polarized and orthogonal to the adjacent peaks.
  • the bandwidth of optical comb 30 is limited by the buffer-gas pressure inside vapor cell 31 and the gain bandwidth.
  • the gain bandwidth is controlled by Bragg mirror 32 or alternative band-selected optical filters.
  • An initial very small 0-0 hyperfine coherence can be excited by laser instability. Because of the presence of the hyperfine coherence, the alkali-metal vapor can scatter photons from original frequency v 0 to new optical frequency v 0 ⁇ Vo 0 . With favorable conditions, scattered photons with a new frequency can be increased by the photonic gain medium 33, such as the laser diode. Therefore, an optical comb of push-pull pumping light grows inside the gain bandwidth 35. The growth of the optical comb represents increased push-pull pumping light. A stronger push-pull pumping light generates stronger hyperf ⁇ ne coherence.
  • the laser is steadily modulated at the hyperfine frequency. It is advantageous for the spacing of the optical comb to be commensurate with the cavity mode. For laser modulating at other field-dependent hyperfine frequency, a similar optical comb is generated, but the polarization pattern of the optical comb can be different.
  • the optical comb generated by the self-modulated laser has comb spacing locked by the hyperfine frequency. Unlike the optical comb produced by regular comb laser, the comb spacing has to be locked to an external reference.
  • An extended application of the alkali-vapor self-modulated laser is to produce a stable optical frequency as the optical clock.
  • the spectral position of the optical comb has to be locked.
  • the optical frequency of one of the comb peaks can be locked to the multiple of the hyperfine frequency by feedback controlling of the laser cavity.
  • n is an integer number
  • V] 1 is the hyperfine frequency.
  • the optical frequency is about 10 14 - 10 15 Hz and the hyperfine frequency is about 10 9 -10 10 Hz.
  • the integer number n is a value between 10 4 and 10 6 . Therefore a stable optical frequency light source is generated. Such stable light source can have a great application in any kinds of precision measurements.
  • Figs. 7A-7D show possible embodiments of cavity configurations for self- modulated laser systems 40-70.
  • Four representative cavity configurations are described as examples with only one gain medium in the laser cavity. It is understood that two or more gain media are able to be incorporated inside the cavity.
  • Self-modulated laser system 40 uses polarization gain medium 42, such as an electronically pumped semiconductor, for example, quantum well heterojunction edge-emitting laser diode (ELD).
  • Polarization gain medium 42 outputs light with linear polarization.
  • two quarter wave plates 43a, 43b are used inside laser cavity 41.
  • Vapor cell 44 is positioned, where the laser beam has the maximum alternation of the light polarization, between quarter wave plates 43a, 43b.
  • Bragg mirror 45 and output coupler 46 recombine beams so that they emerge as a single beam of alternating circular polarization.
  • the transmission of light through external cavity 41 is measured with photodiode 48.
  • the cavity mode is used to achieve push-pull pumping.
  • the effective round-trip time of push-pull pumping light is about the multiple of the hyperfine period.
  • the laser cavity operates as a resonator to excite the self modulation. Hence, the cavity pulling effect needs to be considered. Generally, the frequency shift of the modulation frequency due to the change of the cavity length is small.
  • ⁇ v the shift of the modulation frequency
  • ⁇ f the shift of the first harmonic cavity frequency
  • Self-modulated laser system 50 uses polarization-diverse gain medium 52. Light with any polarization can be amplified by this type of gain medium.
  • Polarization diverse gain medium can be made by electronically pumped semiconductors, such as, for example, ELDs and vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) diodes. Accordingly, this embodiment does not use quarter wave plates on either side of the vapor cell to achieve the light pumping pattern as shown in Fig. 6.
  • Self-modulated laser system 60 uses ring cavity 61.
  • photons are moving to one direction.
  • Polarization-diverse gain medium 62 is used for generating the pumping pattern shown in Fig. 6.
  • Narrow band optical filter 64 inside cavity 61 operates in a similar manner as the Bragg mirror described above for other configurations. Only the laser light in the frequency range of narrow band optical filter 64 is allowed to circulate in ring cavity 61.
  • the cycling period of ring cavity 61 is about a multiple of the hyperfine period. This embodiment has the advantage of having the least cavity-pulling effect, since the alkali-metal vapor is filled inside the entire cavity.
  • Self-modulated laser system 70 uses gain medium 42, vapor cell 44, Bragg mirror 45, and output coupler 46 compacted together.
  • the cavity length is much shorter so that the round-trip time is much less than the hyperfine period.
  • An advantage of this embodiment is the very compact size of the self-modulated laser system, since the cavity length is not limited by the hyperfine frequency.
  • a millimeter or sub-millimeter scale photonic clock (without local oscillator) can be achieved.
  • Fig. 7A-7D are only for examples.
  • Other types of cavity design that realize the self modulation of the laser beam into the optical comb by using alkali-metal vapor cell is considered to be within the teachings of the present invention.
  • Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10 show the results of computer simulations of the self- modulated laser system of Fig. 7A.
  • the top panel shows the relative carrier density inside the EDL as a function of time.
  • the middle panel shows the laser intensity inside the cavity as a function of time.
  • the bottom panel shows the electron-spin amplitude due to the 0-0 hyperfine coherence along the z-direction as a function of time.
  • the vapor cell contains 7 Rb with 3 atm buffer-gas pressure.
  • the gain bandwidth is about 66 GHz.
  • the beam diameter is 3 mm.
  • the purity of photon spin is 90%.
  • the loss from the output coupler is 30%.
  • the vapor cell has optical thickness of 0.1 e-folding. Initially, a small spin oscillation is observed in the scale of 10 "8 due to the stepping up laser intensity when laser just turns on. The spin oscillation cannot maintain and die away because of the insufficient vapor density. By increasing the optical thickness of the vapor cell to 0.25 and remaining other conditions the same, it was found that a strong spin oscillation building up in about a millisecond after turning on the laser, and the light is also modulated at the hyperfine frequency as shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 10 shows one of the simulation results for 133 Cs. Cesium has high nuclear spin than rubidium. It requires high vapor density to generate spontaneous push-pull pumping inside the cavity.
  • the optical thickness is increased to 0.5, e-folding, and the beam diameter is reduced to 1 mm.
  • Spontaneous push-pull pumping starts in about 0.1 millisecond after turning on the laser.
  • the tolerance of the mismatching between the cavity mode and the hyperfine frequency is about 0.5%. Beyond the tolerance, spontaneous push-pull pumping cannot be produced.
  • Fig. 11 illustrates the intensity pattern along the cavity axis at different time points when a steady self modulation is built up.
  • the round-trip time of the cavity is equal to three times hyperfine period.
  • the vapor cell is placed at the center of the laser cavity. It is shown that each time the light pulse hits the vapor cell, there is maximum spin magnitude.
  • the laser continuously outputs light pulse repeating at the hyperfine frequency.
  • the light pulse signal can be easily converted into an electrical ticking signal as a clock.
  • the gain medium and the vapor cell have to be temperature stabilized; the ambient magnetic field of the laser cavity has to be stabilized; the cavity length also has to be stabilized.
  • the stabilization of magnetic field and the temperature can be achieved by using a magnetic- field sensor and a temperature sensor with two feedback loops to compensate the changes of those two quantities.
  • the cavity length can be stabilized by a feedback adjustment of the cavity length to obtain a maximum light modulation.
  • Fig. 12 shows results of a computer simulation of the self-modulated laser system 70 of Fig. 7D.
  • the vapor cell is assumed to have 85 Rb.
  • the effective cavity round-trip time is 5 ps, which is much shorter than the hyperfine period, ⁇ 330 ns, of 85 Rb.
  • the self-modulated laser light is alternating between ⁇ + polarization (solid line) and ⁇ -polarization (dotted line).
  • the generation of spontaneous push-pull pumping inside the vapor cell strongly depends on some physical parameters of the laser diode, such as the differential gain, the carrier lifetime, the excited-state spin relaxation rate of the gain medium, and the carrier pumping rate.

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  • Spectroscopy & Molecular Physics (AREA)
  • Semiconductor Lasers (AREA)
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  • Measuring Magnetic Variables (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé et un appareil permettant de fabriquer des horloges atomiques ou des magnétomètres atomiques en tant que systèmes laser auto-modulés sur la base de la physique du pompage optique en mode push-pull. Il est nécessaire qu'une cellule de vapeur atomique soit dans la cavité laser. Dans des conditions appropriées, le pompage optique en mode push-pull spontané peut survenir à l'intérieur de la cavité laser, ce qui provoque la modulation du faisceau laser à une fréquence de résonance hyperfine. A l'aide d'un photodétecteur rapide, on peut convertir le signal laser modulé en signal électrique, qui fait office de signal d'horloge atomique ou de signal de magnétomètre. Le système laser auto-modulé n'utilise aucun oscillateur local ni le circuit hyperfréquence pour verrouiller la fréquence d'oscillateur à la fréquence de résonance hyperfine et, en conséquence, consomme moins d'énergie, devenant ainsi plus compact que les systèmes classiques. Les applications de mesure du temps et de mesure de champs magnétiques en tireront profit.
EP05857002A 2004-11-22 2005-11-22 Procede et systeme d'exploitation d'un laser auto-module a une frequence hyperfine d'atome de metal alcalin Withdrawn EP1815588A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US63002404P 2004-11-22 2004-11-22
US11/052,261 US7102451B2 (en) 2004-02-18 2005-02-07 Method and system for operating an atomic clock with alternating-polarization light
US11/284,064 US7323941B1 (en) 2004-02-18 2005-11-21 Method and system for operating a laser self-modulated at alkali-metal atom hyperfine frequency
PCT/US2005/042396 WO2006073597A2 (fr) 2004-11-22 2005-11-22 Procede et systeme d'exploitation d'un laser auto-module a une frequence hyperfine d'atome de metal alcalin

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JP5039452B2 (ja) * 2007-06-27 2012-10-03 株式会社日立ハイテクノロジーズ 磁場計測装置
JP5532679B2 (ja) * 2008-07-03 2014-06-25 セイコーエプソン株式会社 原子発振器の光学系及び原子発振器
JP5381400B2 (ja) * 2009-02-06 2014-01-08 セイコーエプソン株式会社 量子干渉装置、原子発振器、および磁気センサー
US8237514B2 (en) 2009-02-06 2012-08-07 Seiko Epson Corporation Quantum interference device, atomic oscillator, and magnetic sensor
JP6346446B2 (ja) * 2013-02-14 2018-06-20 株式会社リコー 原子発振器、ｃｐｔ共鳴の検出方法及び磁気センサ
KR102060117B1 (ko) * 2018-05-24 2020-02-11 국방과학연구소 알칼리증기레이저 광이득 조절방법 및 그 시스템
CN110928174B (zh) * 2019-12-17 2022-01-11 中国科学院国家授时中心 一种原子钟鉴频信号探测系统

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EP1815588A4 (fr) 2010-03-03
JP2008522411A (ja) 2008-06-26
WO2006073597A2 (fr) 2006-07-13
WO2006073597A3 (fr) 2007-04-26

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