External-cavity diode laser in second-order Littrow configuration.

In this Letter, we propose and demonstrate an external-cavity diode laser in second-order Littrow configuration. This topology utilizes a low-efficiency diffraction grating to establish a high-finesse external cavity, strong optical feedback, a high polarization discrimination, and a circular TEM00 output mode. In our proof-of-concept experiment, we realized a cavity with a finesse of 1855, being, to the best of our knowledge, the highest value ever reported for a three-port-grating-coupled cavity. With optical feedback, the laser threshold of the laser diode employed was reduced by a factor of 4.

Translational, rotational, and vibrational coupling into phase in diffractively coupled optical cavities.

All-reflective optical systems are under consideration for future gravitational wave detector topologies. A key feature of these all-reflective systems is the use of Fabry-Perot cavities with diffraction gratings as input couplers; however, theory predicts and experiment has shown that translation of the grating surface across the incident laser light will introduce additional phase into the system. This translation can be induced through simple side-to-side motion of the coupler, yaw motion of the coupler around a central point (i.e., rotation about a vertical axis), and even via internal resonances (i.e., vibration) of the optical element. In this Letter we demonstrate on a prototype-scale suspended cavity that conventional cavity length-sensing techniques used to detect longitudinal changes along the cavity axis will also be sensitive to translational, rotational, and vibrational motion of the diffractive input coupler. We also experimentally verify the amplitude response and frequency dependency of the noise coupling as given by theory.

Experimental demonstration of a suspended diffractively coupled optical cavity.

All-reflective optical systems are under consideration for future gravitational wave detector topologies. One approach in proposed designs is to use diffraction gratings as input couplers for Fabry-Perot cavities. We present an experimental demonstration of a fully suspended diffractively coupled cavity and investigate the use of conventional Pound-Drever-Hall length sensing and control techniques to maintain the required operating condition.