An ultraviolet laser system for laser cooling and trapping of metastable magnesium

TL;DR

This paper presents a stable, reliable ultraviolet laser system designed for cooling and trapping metastable magnesium atoms, simplifying the complex process of multi-laser frequency stabilization for atomic physics experiments.

Contribution

The authors develop a three-laser system stabilized to a single transfer cavity, reducing complexity and increasing reliability for magnesium laser cooling applications.

Findings

Achieved stable laser frequencies near 383 nm for magnesium cooling.

Demonstrated high reliability suitable for complex atomic physics experiments.

Simplified the setup by using a single transfer cavity for stabilization.

Abstract

We report on a reliable laser system for cooling magnesium atoms in the metastable 3P manifold. The three relevant transitions coupling the 3P to the 3D manifold are near 383 nm and seperated by several hundred GHz. The laser system consists of three diode lasers at 766 nm. All lasers are frequency stabilised to a single pre-stabilised transfer cavity. The applied scheme for frequency control greatly reduces the complexity of operating three lasers combined with resonant frequency doubling stages and provides a high reliability necessary for complex atomic physics experiments.