Ultracompact reference ultralow expansion glass cavity

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Optical Engineering
• Metrology

Background:

• Stable lasers are crucial for high-precision measurements in various scientific fields.
• Existing ultrastable lasers are often bulky and complex, limiting their applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally characterize a new ultracompact and ultrastable laser system.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of achieving high frequency stability in a miniaturized laser.

Main Methods:

• Design and fabrication of an original 25 mm long, pyramidal Fabry-Perot cavity with crystalline coatings.
• Integration of the cavity, vacuum chamber, and optical setup within a 30 L volume.
• Measurement of thermal and vibration sensitivities of the laser cavity.

Main Results:

• The laser system is successfully integrated into a compact 30 L volume.
• Characterization of the cavity's sensitivities to thermal and vibrational environmental factors.
• Estimation of the laser's fractional frequency instability at σ_y(1 s)=7.5×10^-15.

Conclusions:

• The presented laser design offers a significant advancement in miniaturizing ultrastable laser systems.
• The experimental results validate the performance of the novel Fabry-Perot cavity for frequency stabilization.
• This compact laser technology has potential applications in portable metrology and fundamental physics experiments.