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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Construction and Characterization of External Cavity Diode Lasers for Atomic Physics
Published on: April 24, 2014
Observation of coherent transients by use of current switching of a semiconductor diode laser
Abstract:
We have observed optical free induction decay on the (3)H(6)(1) ? (3)H(4)(1) transition of Tm(3+) ions in LaF(3), using an external-cavity diode laser. The diode-laser frequency was switched by the application of a current step, and the resulting transient was detected by heterodyne beating with the laser at its new frequency. This provides a simple new way to measure coherent transients. The beat note shows a frequency chirp that gives a real-time measure of the diode-laser frequency. This result is attributed to changes in the laser lattice temperature on the microsecond time scale.
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