Compact plug and play optical frequency reference device based on Doppler-free spectroscopy of rubidium vapor

Compactness, robustness and autonomy of optical frequency references are prerequisites for reliable operation in mobile systems, on ground as well as in space. We present a standalone plug and play optical frequency reference device based on frequency modulation spectroscopy of the D2-transition in rubidium at 780 nm. After a single button press the hand-sized laser module, based on the micro-integrated laser-optical bench described in [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B38, 1885 (2021)10.1364/JOSAB.420875], works fully autonomous and generates 6 mW of frequency stabilized light with a relative frequency instability of 1.4×10^-12 at 1 s and below 10^-11 at 10⁵ s averaging time. We describe the design of the device, investigate the thermal characteristics affecting the output frequency and demonstrate short-term frequency stability improvement by a Bayesian optimizer varying the modulation parameters.