主动光钟研究进展

自2005年至今，主动光钟经过了近20年的发展。主动光钟利用原子系综作为增益介质，其受激辐射可直接作为钟激光信号。因为主动光钟工作在坏腔区域，因此具有腔牵引抑制和窄线宽两个显著的优点，可以有效克服被动光钟存在的腔长热噪声问题。由于其优越的性能，主动光钟受到了国内外同行的广泛关注。根据实现方式不同，本文将主动光钟划分为原子束型主动光钟、基于激光冷却和光晶格囚禁的主动光钟、原子束及光晶格“复合型”主动光钟、法拉第主动光钟、离子阱囚禁型主动光钟以及热原子气室型主动光钟。对于不同类型的主动光钟，本文详细介绍了其实验及理论研究进展，并分析其优劣。最后，分析了主动光钟在精密测量领域的应用并展望了主动光钟的发展方向，为推动主动光钟的广泛应用提供借鉴。     

Tunable ultranarrow linewidth of a cavity induced by interacting dark resonances

A scheme for obtaining a tunable ultranarrow linewidth of a cavity due to an embedded four-level atomic medium with double-dark resonances is proposed. It is shown that the steep dispersion induced by double-dark resonances in the transparency window leads to the ultranarrow transmission peak. Compared with the case of a single-dark resonance system, the linewidth can be narrowed even by one order under proper conditions. Furthermore, the position of the ultranarrow peak can be engineered by varying the detuning of the control field.     

Theory and experiments of a three-cavity wavelength-selective photodetector

We propose a novel wavelength-selective photodetector with three subcavities, i.e., a filtering cavity, a spacer cavity, and an absorption cavity, for obtaining a narrow spectral response linewidth and a high quantum efficiency simultaneously. A theoretical prediction has been made that a less than 1-nm linewidth and a quantum efficiency as high as 90% are possible. We discuss the effects of the key factors on the performance of this type of photodetector that has been designed and fabricated. A spectral response linewidth of approximately 1.4 nm (FWHM) and an external quantum efficiency higher than 50% have been achieved experimentally. Such devices are promising for wavelength-division multiplexing applications.     

Cavity Pulling in Passive Frequency Standards

Assuming a Lorentzian shape for the atomic line, we calculate the cavity-pulling factors of passive frequency standards, taking into account the modification of the applied electromagnetic field by the atomic radiation. The calculation is therefore valid for all values of the gain of the atomic medium and gives, in particular, the cavity-pulling factor when the oscillation threshold is approached. The effect of saturation of the line by the field is included. Two expressions of the cavity-pulling factor are derived. One applies when the electromagnetic field level in the cavity is measured, and the other when the population of the atomic levels is analyzed. Consequences of these results are discussed. An experimental verification of the theoretical results is given, when the resonance of the field level in a hydrogen maser cavity is monitored in conditions where the oscillation threshold is approached.     

Enhanced gain and narrow linewidth of an optical cavity by the Doppler effect in a four-level atomic system

Abstract

A scheme for high gain and narrow linewidth of an optical cavity with a four-level atomic system is proposed by the Doppler effect via active Raman gain (ARG) process. Atomic motion leads to Doppler frequency shift which induces constructive interference for the linear susceptibility. The enhanced normal dispersion greatly narrows the cavity linewidth, and the amplified gain gives rise to a high cavity transmission. Simulation results show that the cavity linewidth based on ARG is about one order of magnitude narrower than that based on electromagnetically-induced transparency under the same conditions, and the cavity transmission intensity could be enhanced by nearly 30 times.     

The Effect of Phase Fluctuation on Electromagnetically Induced Transparency,Inversionless Lasing and Refractive Index Enhancement in a Λ System

Abstract

The steady-state behaviour for a Λ-type, three-level atomic system has been analysed by taking into account the effect of the phase fluctuation. It is shown that, for a monochromatic driving field, even if the probe field is in resonance with the corresponding atomic transition, a large refraction index can still be generated; for a finite linewidth of the driving field, inversionless lasing and index enhancement tends to disappear. Furthermore, the linewidth prevents the transparency of the medium.     

Implementation of a loss-compensated recirculating delayed self-heterodyne interferometer for ultranarrow laser linewidth measurement

Ultranarrow laser linewidth measurement using an optimized loss- compensated recirculating delayed self-heterodyne interferometer is described. An experimental setup is constructed to measure subkilohertz laser linewidths. The system parameters are optimized to obtain the best beat signals. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical analysis. Two methods of linewidth interpretation are presented and analyzed based on the experimental results. It is proved that a loss-compensated recirculating delayed self-heterodyne interferometer is an effective tool for measuring an ultranarrow laser linewidth.     

Electromagnetically induced transparency in a quadratically coupled optomechanical system with an atomic medium

We investigate a quadratically coupled optomechanical cavity system filled with a two-level atomic medium. The output of the cavity field exhibits analogous electromagnetically induced transparency when the optomechanical system interacts with the coupling and probe fields, respectively. We show that the introduction of the atomic medium can enhance the fluctuation of the displacement of the membrane as well as its energy. With the increasing of the atomic number, the dip of the absorption becomes deep.     

Geometrical optics model of Mie resonances

The geometrical optics model of Mie resonances is presented. The ray path geometry is given and the resonance condition is discussed with special emphasis on the phase shift that the rays undergo at the surface of the dielectric sphere. On the basis of this model, approximate expressions for the positions of first-order resonances are given. Formulas for the cavity mode spacing are rederived in a simple manner. It is shown that the resonance linewidth can be calculated regarding the cavity losses. Formulas for the mode density of Mie resonances are given that account for the different width of resonances and thus may be adapted to specific experimental situations.     

Frequency Stability of a He-Xe Laser with Nonresonant Feedback

The results of experimental investigation of frequency stability of a He-Xe laser (? = 3.508?) with nonresonant feedback are reported. It is experimentally proved that the mean frequency of oscillations does not depend on the distance between the mirror and the scatterer. It is shown that the spectral width depends on the number N of modes interacting due to scattering. The greater N is, the narrower is the linewidth. In a He-Xe laser with a relatively low number of interacting modes (N = 10) the linewidth is about 15 mHz. The lasers with a large number of interacting modes (N~104 to 106) are considered. The linewidth in such lasers is expected to be 104 to 105Hz. The short-term stability of the laser with nonresonant feedback is determined by the linewidth, but the long-term stability should be much better; it is determined only by the stability of the atomic resonance center.     

Tunneling-induced high gain and narrow linewidth of a cavity with an asymmetric quantum-well system

A scheme is proposed for obtaining high gain and narrow linewidth of a cavity with an asymmetric quantum-well system. Due to resonant tunneling, destructive interference for linear absorption leads to a tunneling-induced transparency window which compresses the cavity linewidth; moreover, constructive interference for cross-nonlinear susceptibility occurs, which introduces high gain and large dispersion, and the cavity linewidth is much compressed. In the latter case, the intensity of cavity transmission could be enhanced one order of magnitude larger than that of input field, and its linewidth could be one-seventieth of the empty cavity.     

Buffer-gas-induced narrowing of electromagnetically induced transparent spectra for an open system

We have investigated the spectra of the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) when a cell is filled with a buffer gas. Our theoretical results show that the buffer gas can induce a narrower spectra line and steeper dispersion than those of the usual EIT case in a homogeneous and Doppler broadened system. The linewidth decreases with the increase of the buffer gas pressure. This narrow spectra may be applied to quantum information processing, nonlinear optics and atomic frequency standard.     

测量激光线宽的一种新装置

介绍了一种新的仅用一台激光器测定激光线宽或频率稳定的测量方法，用稳定的无源腔透过曲线腰处斜率将激光的频率扰动转为电压扰动。用所研制的测量装置对自制的边疆波染料激光频率的线宽和频率稳定性进行了测量。     

法拉第滤光器在法拉第激光器领域研究进展

法拉第激光器是一种利用法拉第反常色散原子滤光器作为选频元件的新型外腔半导体激光器,原理上法拉第激光的输出波长随着激光二极管驱动电流及工作温度的变化,始终与原子跃迁谱线相对应,可以将激光频率有效地锁定至原子跃迁谱线,实现窄线宽的激光输出信号,并且短期与长期频率稳定性均较好。本文详细介绍了自1845年法拉第旋光效应提出以来,法拉第反常色散原子滤光器的发展历程,法拉第激光器的工作机理、发展历程以及性能优越性,并结合国内外的研究进展,介绍了法拉第激光发展各个阶段的技术瓶颈及相应的解决办法,同时展望了法拉第激光器未来在量子领域特别是量子精密测量领域的重要价值。     

Investigation of Microwave Absorption of Surface-State Electrons on Liquid 3He

We report on the experimental study of the resonance microwave absorption of surface-state electrons (SSE) on liquid ³He. The absorption is detected as a variation of the microwave power passing through the experimental cell, or as a resonance-induced change in the electron conductivity. In the latter method a decrease of the conductivity is observed, which points out on the possibility of substantial heating of the electrons by the absorbed microwave power. In a vapor-atom scattering regime the temperature dependence of the linewidth agrees well with the theoretical model, and the absolute value of the measured linewidth is about twice larger than the theoretical one. At very high microwave power the side band absorption peaks are observed.     

Antireflection-coated blue GaN laser diodes in an external cavity and Doppler-free indium absorption spectroscopy

Commercially available GaN-based laser diodes were antireflection coated in our laboratory and operated in an external cavity in a Littrow configuration. A total tuning range of typically 4 nm and an optical output power of up to 30 mW were observed after optimization of the external cavity. The linewidth was measured with a beterodyne technique, and 0.8 MHz at a sweep time of 50 ms was obtained. The mode-hop-free tuning range was more than 50 GHz. We demonstrated the performance of the laser by detecting the saturated absorption spectrum of atomic indium at 410 nm, allowing observation of well-resolved Lamb dips.     

Accurate measurement method of Fabry-Perot cavity parameters via optical transfer function

It is shown how the transfer function from frequency noise to a Pound-Drever-Hall signal for a Fabry-Perot cavity can be used to accurately measure cavity length, cavity linewidth, mirror curvature, misalignments, laser beam shape mismatching with resonant beam shape, and cavity impedance mismatching with respect to vacuum.