Method and Apparatus for Laser Frequency Stabilization

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for laser frequency stabilization and control including precise laser frequency tuning.

Precise frequency control and high spectral purity are important for many laser applications including high-resolution spectroscopy, precision interferometric measurement, frequency-selective optical data storage, and optical communications. Various methods and apparatus have been employed in attempts to achieve such frequency control.

In one approach, feedback is used to minimize the frequency offset from an absolute frequency reference, such as an atomic or molecular absorption line. See, e.g., M. W. Hamilton, Contemporary Phys. 30, 21, p. 25 (1989). But such methods depend upon the availability of a reference substance having an absorption line at the desired frequency, and thus cannot stabilize a laser at an arbitrary frequency. Further, the range and speed of tuning are limited because of the large magnetic fields required to frequency-shift the absorption resonances of the atomic or molecular systems of the reference substance. Moreover, a small frequency modulation of the laser is typically required in order to generate the feedback signal, placing an upper limit on the spectral purity attainable.

In another approach, a relatively stable "master" laser is used to control the frequency of an unstable "slave" laser. Such methods require the added complexity of a second laser. More significantly, the master laser must have an appropriate frequency relative to the frequency at which the slave laser is to be stabilized, and relatively stable lasers having such an appropriate frequency may not be readily available. Furthermore, the resulting stability is only as good as that of the master laser.

In yet another third approach, a reference cavity may be used to stabilize a laser. See. e.g., M. Ohtsu, K. Nakagawa, M. Kuorogi, W. Wang, J. Appl. Phys. 73, 1 (1993) and R. W. P. Drever, J. L. Hall, F. V. Kowalski, J. Hough, G. M. Ford, A. J. Munley, H. Ward, AppI. Phys. B 31, 97 (1983). These methods allow tuning at arbitrary frequencies, but the tuning speed is slow because the cavity length must be varied, typically by mechanical means. The stability achieved is limited to the stability of the reference cavity.

In still another approach, two self-referenced interferometric schemes have been proposed to control the frequency of a laser (see J. Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,009 and Y. T. Chen, Appl. Opt. 28, 2017 (1989)). While these methods allow the initial stabilization of a laser at an arbitrary frequency, subsequent stabilizations can occur only at a set of discrete frequencies relative to the initial frequency. More significantly, the feedback electronics must be actively adjusted in order to stabilize the laser at frequencies other than the initial frequency.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for laser frequency stabilization and precise laser frequency tuning. In brief, the method and apparatus of the present invention comprises splitting a laser beam to be frequency controlled into two beam portions which form the arms of an interferometric system. At the output of the interferometer, the beams are recombined after having traveled different optical distances, producing a time delay or differential between the beam portions. A particular realization of the invention also comprises the introduction of a frequency differential between the beam portions. The thus-processed combined beam exhibits a time variation in intensity, the time variation being a function of the time rate of change of the laser beam frequency. A signal proportional to the laser beam frequency's time rate of change is derived from the processed beam and used to generate a control signal to provide feedback to control the laser frequency, thereby providing for laser frequency stabilization. Precise laser frequency tuning may be achieved by introducing a controlled deviation or variation in the signal derived from the processed beam, such as by adjusting the frequency differential introduced between the beam portions, or by otherwise introducing a controlled deviation or variation in the signal derived from the processed beam and/or in the feedback signal to the laser. Continuous tuning may thus be achieved without external frequency references and without readjustment of the signal processing circuits downstream of the processed beam. The timescale over which frequency stabilization can be achieved may be increased or decreased as needed and the bandwidth of the stabilization capability broadened by including in parallel with the first processed beam, one or more additional processed beams comprising beam portions having time delays different from that of the beam portions of the first processed beam. The time delay(s) may be selected as needed for optimal stability at desired timescale(s). Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram, partially in block form, of an embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention, and which may be used to practice the methods of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram, partially in block form, of another embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention, which may also be used to practice the methods of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a laser 1, the frequency of which is to be controlled, produces a laser beam 2. A first beam splitter 3 extracts a portion of the laser beam as the output from the apparatus. (As used herein, the term laser is intended in a generic sense, covering a wide scope of coherent radiation sources.) The laser beam 2 is subsequently split by a beam-deflecting acousto-optic modulator ("AOM") 4 into a first deflected, frequency-shifted beam portion 5 and a second undeflected beam portion 6. A frequency shift .DELTA.v.sub.AOM =75 MHz was utilized in a working example (see Greiner, et al., Optics Letters 23:16 p. 1280 (Aug., 1998), incorporated herein by reference). Laser beam portion 6 is subsequently coupled into the long (time-delayed) arm 8a of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer comprising mirrors 9 and 10 and second beam splitter 11. The time delay .tau..sub.D in arm 8a, (.tau..sub.D =11 .mu.s in the working example) may be created by an optical fiber 12. The use of single-mode polarization-maintaining optical fiber can be advantageous, however, it is not necessary for proper operation. The frequency-shifted beam portion 5 passes through the short arm 8b of the interferometer via mirror 7. At the output port of the interferometer, the light fields E.sub.S and E.sub.L, from the short and long arms respectively, can be written as: ##EQU1## Here .epsilon.(t) us the real-valued amplitude of E.sub.S, .alpha. is a real-valued constant, t.sub.r is a reference time, v(t) is the instantaneous frequency of the electric field before the AOM, and .eta. denotes the phase of the AOM at t=t.sub.r. Addition of the two fields at the output of the interferometer produces a processed beam 13 with a time-varying intensity given by: ##EQU2## The processed beam's intensity is detected by a photo-detector 14 and filtered by a bandpass filter 15. The bandwidth of the filter in the working example was 50-150 MHz. A phase-locked loop 16 is employed as an FM demodulator to convert the beat signal frequency into a voltage V.sub.PLL (t) according to: ##EQU3## For the working example, V.sub.PLL .apprxeq.75 MHz nearly matching .DELTA.v.sub.AOM. For frequency stabilization the constant term can be eliminated through suitable electronic filters which are well-known in the art.

When v(t) changes slowly over a delay time .tau..sub.D the error signal is proportional to the time derivative of the laser frequency ##EQU4## In this limit, subsequent integration electronics 17 (as known well in the art) will yield a voltage that is proportional to the overall laser frequency excursion during the integration time. The integrated signal is subsequently used to provide negative feedback to the laser via a laser frequency control 18, thereby stabilizing the laser frequency. Laser frequency control 18 typically comprises means known in the art such as piezo-electrically actuated cavity mirror or intra-cavity electro-optic phase modulators.

Note that the approximation (5), and thus the time delay of the interferometer, determines the time scale over which frequency stabilization is optimal. If v(t) is not a slowly-varying function over a delay time .tau..sub.D the error signal V.sub.PLL (t) can still be used for frequency stabilization if suitable phase control and amplification electronics (as are well known in the art) are used in the circuitry of FIG. 1.

Another embodiment in accordance with the present invention that allows for frequency stabilization over an extended bandwidth is depicted in FIG. 2. The same or similar reference characters are used to denote the same or similar components as in FIG. 1. A second interferometer is employed, identical to the one depicted in FIG. 1, except for a longer delay time .tau.'.sub.D. (For example, .tau.'.sub.D may be 100 .mu.s while .tau..sub.D remains at about 10 .mu.s, allowing for a ten-fold bandwidth increase as compared to the working example of the embodiment of FIG. 1). After detection of the two beat signals and frequency demodulation thereof, the signals from phase-locked loops 16a and 16b are combined (using adding electronics 20 well known in the art) integrated, and fed back to the laser. It will be understood that the embodiment of FIG. 2 may be generalized to a system that incorporates more than two interferometers all with different time delays, thus allowing tailoring of the frequency stabilization time scale.

A further aspect of the invention relates to precise laser frequency tuning control. Referring to FIG. 1, a voltage-controlled oscillator ("VCO") 19 is connected to the acousto-optic deflector allowing for control of .increment.v.sub.AOM via control of the oscillator's input voltage. This can typically be done by an electronic signal generator as known in the art. In the presence of large feedback gain the error signal of Equation 4 above is zeroed and the following condition is satisfied:

Each value of .DELTA.v.sub.AOM corresponds to a specific time rate of change of laser frequency. Therefore control of .DELTA.v.sub.AOM provides a means of laser frequency adjustment. When .increment.V.sub.AOM =V.sub.PLL, the laser frequency will remain stable. This is a specific example relating to the aspect of controlled laser frequency tuning. It will be understood that the same effect may achieved by adjustment of v.sub.PLL or by use of an additional electrical signal introduced to the control circuitry.

The invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiments, but variations within the spirit and scope of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, it will be understood that an optical delay line other than an optical fiber can be used, and that various other circuit configurations can be use to implement the functions of the circuitry in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is as defined in the appended claims.