Abstract
The authors demonstrate an optical frequency synthesizer based on a femtosecond (fs) mode-locked Ti:sapphire (Ti:s) laser by simultaneously stabilizing the carrier-offset frequency fceo and repetition rate frep, referenced to the Cs atomic frequency standard. By using two wide-band digital phase-detectors they realize a phase-coherent link between frep and fceo with the relation fceo = f AOM - 5/6frep ≡ 0, where fAOM = 5/6f rep is the phase-locked driving frequency of an acousto-optic modulator in a self-referencing interferometer and frep = 100 MHz. For the simultaneous control of frep and fceo, an orthogonalization scheme using a three-axis piezoelectric transducer is introduced by which the end mirror of fs laser is controlled. As a result, the authors could stabilize all components of the fs laser comb at once with an equal frequency separation frep = 100 MHz with fceo = 0. In their optical frequency synthesizer, the frequency of the nth component (fn) is given exactly by the simple relation fn = nf rep, enabling them to use the fs laser comb as a frequency ruler in the optical frequency metrology.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1025-1029 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | IEEE Journal on Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2003 Jul |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Femtosecond laser
- Optical comb
- Optical frequency synthesizer
- Phase locking
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering