ABSTRACT
We have designed and implemented a highly digital optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) for diode lasers in atom interferometry. The three parts of controlling circuit in this OPLL, including phase and frequency detector (PFD), loop filter and proportional integral derivative (PID) controller, are implemented in a single field programmable gate array chip. A structure type compatible with the model MAX9382∕MCH12140 is chosen for PFD and pipeline and parallelism technology have been adapted in PID controller. Especially, high speed clock and twisted ring counter have been integrated in the most crucial part, the loop filter. This OPLL has the narrow beat note line width below 1 Hz, residual mean-square phase error of 0.14 rad(2) and transition time of 100 µs under 10 MHz frequency step. A main innovation of this design is the completely digitalization of the whole controlling circuit in OPLL for diode lasers.
ABSTRACT
We have realized a long-term frequency stabilization system for external cavity diode laser (ECDL) based on mode boundary detection method. In this system, the saturated absorption spectroscopy was used. The current and the grating of the ECDL were controlled by a computer-based feedback control system. By checking if there are mode boundaries in the spectrum, the control system determined how to adjust current to avoid mode hopping. This procedure was executed periodically to ensure the long-term stabilization of ECDL in the absence of mode hops. This diode laser system with non-antireflection coating had operated in the condition of long-term mode-hop-free stabilization for almost 400 h, which is a significant improvement of ECDL frequency stabilization system.
