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arXiv · 2104.03880

Slow Light Frequency Reference Cavities -- Proof of Concept for Reducing the Frequency Sensitivity Due to Length Fluctuations

Sebastian P. Horvath·Chunyan Shi·David Gustavsson·Andreas Walther·Adam Kinos·Stefan Kröll·Lars Rippe
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Abstract

Length changes due to thermo-mechanical noise originating from, for example, Brownian motion are a key limiting factor of present day state-of-the-art laser frequency stabilization using Fabry-P\'erot cavities. We present a laser-frequency stabilization concept using an optical cavity with a strong slow-light effect to reduce the impact of cavity length changes on the frequency stability. The resulting noise-reduction factor is proportional to the ratio between the light phase and group velocities in the highly dispersive cavity spacer. We experimentally demonstrate a proof-of-principle implementation of this laser-frequency stabilization technique using a rare-earth doped crystalline cavity spacer in conjunction with semi-permanent spectral tailoring to achieve precise control of the dispersive properties of the cavity. Compared to the same setup in the absence of the slow-light effect a reduction in frequency sensitivity of four orders of magnitude was achieved.

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Sebastian P. Horvath, Chunyan Shi, David Gustavsson, Andreas Walther, Adam Kinos, Stefan Kröll, Lars Rippe. 2021-04-08. Slow Light Frequency Reference Cavities -- Proof of Concept for Reducing the Frequency Sensitivity Due to Length Fluctuations. https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ac5932

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