Cavity enhanced DUV laser for two-photon cooling of atomic hydrogen

TL;DR

This paper reports the development of a high-power continuous-wave laser at 243 nm with an enhancement cavity, enabling two-photon cooling of atomic hydrogen and potentially benefiting experiments on simple atomic systems.

Contribution

The work introduces a stable, high-power DUV laser system with an enhancement cavity capable of sustained operation, suitable for two-photon cooling of hydrogen.

Findings

650 mW continuous-wave laser at 243 nm achieved

Enhancement cavity maintains >30 W intracavity power for 1 hour

System is suitable for two-photon laser cooling of hydrogen

Abstract

We demonstrate a \SI{650}{\mW} \SI{243}{\nm} continuous-wave laser coupled to a linear optical enhancement cavity. The enhancement cavity can maintain $>$\SI{30}{\W} of intracavity power for \SI{1}{\hour} of continuous operation without degradation. This system has sufficient power for a demonstration of two-photon laser cooling of hydrogen and may be useful for experiments on other simple two-body atomic systems.