2×10-13 Fractional Laser-Frequency Stability with a 7-cm Unequal-Arm Mach-Zehnder Interferometer

authored by

Victor Huarcaya, Miguel Dovale Álvarez, Daniel Penkert, Stefano Gozzo, Pablo Martínez Cano, Kohei Yamamoto, Juan José Esteban Delgado, Moritz Mehmet, Karsten Danzmann, Gerhard Heinzel

Abstract

To achieve subpicometer sensitivities in the millihertz band, laser interferometric inertial sensors rely on some form of reduction of the laser-frequency noise, typically by locking the laser to a stable frequency reference, such as the narrow-line-width resonance of an ultrastable optical cavity or an atomic or molecular transition. In this paper, we report on a compact laser-frequency stabilization technique based on an unequal-arm Mach-Zehnder interferometer that is subnanometer stable at 10μHz, subpicometer at 0.5 mHz, and reaches a noise floor of 7fm/Hz at 1 Hz. The interferometer is used in conjunction with a dc servo to stabilize the frequency of a laser down to a fractional instability below 4×10-13 at averaging times from 0.1 to 100 s. The technique offers a wide operating range, does not rely on complex lock-acquisition procedures, and can be readily integrated as part of the optical bench in future gravity missions.

Organisation(s)

QuantumFrontiers
QUEST-Leibniz Research School
CRC 1464: Relativistic and Quantum-Based Geodesy (TerraQ)
PhoenixD: Photonics, Optics, and Engineering - Innovation Across Disciplines
Institute of Gravitation Physics

External Organisation(s)

Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)

Type

Article

Journal

Physical review applied

Volume

20

ISSN

2331-7019

Publication date

08.2023

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Physics and Astronomy(all)

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.20.024078 (Access: Open)