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A pair of phase-synchronized semiconductor lasers for length metrology
Hucl, Václav ; Holá, Miroslava ; Čížek, Martin ; Řeřucha, Šimon ; Pham, Minh Tuan ; Pravdová, Lenka ; Lazar, Josef ; Číp, Ondřej
Semiconductor lasers are increasingly widespread in areas that have been so far dominated by He-Ne lasers. One of such areas is the length metrology, where He-Ne laser operating at 633nm wavelength is still a traditional source of coherent light for laser interferometers distance measuring. The advantages of semiconductor lasers compared with He-Ne laser are greater optical power and a significantly wider range of wavelength tuning without mode jumps. Another advantage is the possibility of frequency modulation of wavelength of the laser diode by directly changing the injection current. The benefits predetermine these laser diodes for the realization of dual-frequency laser sources for heterodyne interferometry. In this case, using a phase-locked loop technique the optical frequency of a laser diode is locked to the optical frequency of another laser diode with a certain frequency offset in the MHz order. In our contribution we present utilization of DBR laser diodes in implementing a dual-frequency laser source for laser interferometry with heterodyne detection.\n
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Unit for stabilizing optical frequency combs
Hucl, Václav ; Čížek, Martin ; Šmíd, Radek ; Lazar, Josef ; Číp, Ondřej
Optical frequency synthesizers (femtosecond combs) are used mainly in the field of precise measurement of optical frequencies, laser spectroscopy and interferometer distance surveying. The repetition and offset frequencies belong to main controlled parameters of such synthesizer. These two parameters need to be locked to ultra-stable frequency standards i.e. H-masers, Cs- or Rb- clocks. We present the complete digital signal processing chain for phase-locked loop (PLL) control of the repetition and offset frequency. The setup is able to overcome some dropouts causes the femtosecond laser instabilities. The presented work gives the possibility of long-time operation of femtosecond combs which is necessary when the optical frequency stability measurement of ultra-stable lasers is performed.
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Electronics for reducing the sideband noise of a laser diode by utilizing an unbalanced fiber interferometer
Čížek, Martin ; Šmíd, Radek ; Číp, Ondřej
Measuring length changes of optical resonators requires using of lasers with a narrow spectral width. Moreover, for tracking a whole range of possible lengths a widely-tunable laser is required. Laser sources based on DFB laser diodes have a wide optical frequency tuning range, however their spectral linewidth is up to single MHz. The usual way of narrowing the linewidth is based on stabilizing the wavelength of the laser by locking it on an etalon resonator cavity using for example a PDH setup. This of course leads to losing the tunability. We present a different approach where an unbalanced fiber Michelson interferometer with a measuring arm formed of a long optical fiber spool is used as a an optical frequency discriminator. The output electrical signal from the photodetector proportional to the optical frequency changes is used in a fast servo loop. The controller slightly detunes the laser diode by adjusting its pump current and locks optical frequency changes to a zero value. This leads to reducing the sideband noise of the laser by up to 60 dB. The whole method is independent on the actual wavelength of the laser and works in the whole tuning range of the DFB diode.
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System for stabilizing femtosecond lasers
Čížek, Martin
We describe a device intended for stabilizing optical frequency combs with respect to high-grade RF oscillators. The whole designed system is modular and can be adapted to actual conditions given mainly by level, frequency and signal to noise ratio of the processed signals. The device is based on a specialized integrated circuit (IC) that contains functional blocks for direct digital synthesis, digital phase detection, limiters, programmable dividers and control logic. The specialized IC is accompanied by specially developed control electronics based on a microcontroller that allows communication via CAN bus. This allows remote management of the whole system and integrating it into complex automated experiments with optical frequency synthesizers. The device is used for stabilizing offset or repetition frequency of the optical frequency comb. To ensure best possible conditions for a fast first-order controller the setup is extended by a slower second-order controller with a high dynamic range. This second-order controller is built around a specialized 18-bit AD/DA card and a software application in LabView environment. The bandwidth of the closed control loop can be up to single MHz. The only limiting factor is the tuning speed of the femtosecond laser.
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Control electronics for laser systems
Čížek, Martin
The presentation is focused on the electronics being developed and used in experimental setups at the department of coherence optics of the ISI ASCR. Specialized detection and control cards for applications in the field of laser interferometry are the main part of the presented work. The contribution also discusses utilizing CAN bus and ethernet in the modern laboratory practice.
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