A frequency-stabilized light source at 399 nm using an Yb hollow-cathode lamp

TL;DR

This paper reports a 399 nm diode laser stabilized to ytterbium atomic transition with high frequency stability, absolute frequency measurement, and analysis of systematic shifts, useful for precision applications.

Contribution

The work introduces a stable 399 nm laser system stabilized to Yb atoms with precise frequency measurement and systematic shift analysis, advancing laser stabilization techniques.

Findings

Frequency stability of 1.1 x 10^{-11} at 1 second.

Absolute frequency measured as 751,526,522.26 MHz.

Investigation of systematic frequency shifts and isotope shifts.

Abstract

We demonstrate a diode laser system operating at 399 nm that is stabilized to the ${\rm 6s^{2}\ {^1}S_{0} - 6s6p\ {^1}P_{1}}$ electric dipole transition in ytterbium (Yb) atoms in a hollow-cathode lamp. The frequency stability of the laser reached $1.1 \times 10^{-11}$ at an averaging time of $\tau = 1\ \mathrm{s}$. We performed an absolute frequency measurement using an optical frequency comb and determined that the absolute frequency of the laser stabilized to the ${\rm {^1}S_{0} - {^1}P_{1}}$ transition in $^{174}\mathrm{Yb}$ was 751 526 522.26(9) MHz. We also investigated several systematic frequency shifts while changing some of the light source parameters and measured several isotope shifts. The measured laser frequency will provide useful information regarding the practical use of the frequency-stabilized light source at 399 nm.