High finesse pulsed optical cavity locking by tilt-locking technique

Area of Science:

• Laser physics
• Optical cavities
• Precision measurement

Background:

• High-finesse Fabry-Perot cavities are crucial for laser stabilization.
• Existing techniques like Pound-Drever-Hall have limitations for pulsed lasers.
• Efficient laser locking is essential for various scientific applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate the Tilt-Locking (TL) technique for locking a pulsed laser to a high-finesse optical cavity.
• To compare the performance of TL with the established Pound-Drever-Hall technique.
• To investigate and simulate the error signal characteristics of the TL technique in the far-field case.

Main Methods:

• Application of the Tilt-Locking (TL) technique to couple a pulsed laser to a 28,000 finesse Fabry-Perot cavity.
• Experimental validation of the TL technique's performance and stability.
• Simulation of the error signal shape for the far-field case, considering various error sources.

Main Results:

• Achieved stable laser locking with a coupling rate of approximately 80%.
• Demonstrated locking durations exceeding 1 hour.
• Experimental results confirmed simulations for obtaining symmetrical error signals by adjusting photodiode position.
• TL technique performance was found comparable to the Pound-Drever-Hall technique.

Conclusions:

• The Tilt-Locking (TL) technique is a viable and effective method for locking pulsed lasers to high-finesse optical cavities.
• TL offers high and stable coupling efficiency, comparable to established methods.
• The study provides valuable insights into error signal behavior in the far-field, enabling robust implementation.