High frequency stability, narrow-linewidth lasers have been long dreamed of since the invention of the laser. They have recently developed dramatically due to the advent of optical clocks. State-of-the-art narrow-line...High frequency stability, narrow-linewidth lasers have been long dreamed of since the invention of the laser. They have recently developed dramatically due to the advent of optical clocks. State-of-the-art narrow-linewidth lasers have been constructed by using the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique to lock the laser frequencies to the resonance of ultra-stable external optical cavities with high finesse. This paper introduces the developments of narrow-linewidth lasers, with a focus on the improvements of length stability of optical reference cavities, including optical cavity designs of vibration insensitivity and low thermal noise. Future trends and alternative methods for narrow-linewidth lasers are also discussed.展开更多
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China("973"Project)(Grant Nos.2010CB922903,2012CB821302)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11104077,11127405)
文摘High frequency stability, narrow-linewidth lasers have been long dreamed of since the invention of the laser. They have recently developed dramatically due to the advent of optical clocks. State-of-the-art narrow-linewidth lasers have been constructed by using the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique to lock the laser frequencies to the resonance of ultra-stable external optical cavities with high finesse. This paper introduces the developments of narrow-linewidth lasers, with a focus on the improvements of length stability of optical reference cavities, including optical cavity designs of vibration insensitivity and low thermal noise. Future trends and alternative methods for narrow-linewidth lasers are also discussed.