Development of a tunable, narrow linewidth diode laser for spectroscopy experiments on rubidium atoms

Abstract

A tunable, narrow linewidth diode laser system was developed for spectroscopy experiments on rubidium atoms. The frequency stability of the laser was tested using a Fabry-Perot etalon. Locking the frequency to an atomic transition reduces the short-term frequency fluctuation considerably. The spectroscopy experiments demonstrate a significant improvement when the saturated absorption technique is applied. Finally, we show how the Zeeman effect was used to tune the frequency of the laser over a few hundred MHz while keeping the laser locked to an atomic line.