Low-drift Zeeman shifted atomic frequency reference

Abstract

We present a simple method for producing a low-drift atomic frequency reference based upon the Zeeman effect. Our Zeeman Shifted Atomic Reference `ZSAR' is demonstrated to have tens of GHz tuning range, limited only by the strength of the applied field. ZSAR uses Doppler-free laser spectroscopy in a thermal vapor where the vapor is situated in a large, static and controllable magnetic field. We use a heated $^{85}$Rb vapor cell between a pair of position-adjustable permanent magnets capable of applying magnetic fields up to 1 T. To demonstrate the frequency reference we use a spectral feature from the Zeeman shifted D1 line in $^{85}$Rb at 795 nm to stabilize a laser to the 7S$_{1/2}$ $\longrightarrow$ 23P$_{1/2}$ transition in atomic cesium, which is detuned by approximately 19 GHz from the unperturbed Rb transition. We place an upper bound on the stability of the technique by measuring a 2.5 MHz RMS frequency difference between the two spectral features over a 24 hour period. This versatile method could be adapted easily for use with other atomic species and the tuning range readily increased by applying larger magnetic fields.