Diode-laser noise spectroscopy of rubidium

Noise analysis of the atomic superheterodyne receiver based on flat-top laser beams

Since its theoretical sensitivity is limited by quantum noise, radio wave sensing based on Rydberg atoms has the potential to replace its traditional counterparts with higher sensitivity and has developed rapidly in recent years. However, as the most sensitive atomic radio wave sensor, the atomic superheterodyne receiver lacks a detailed noise analysis to pave its way to achieve theoretical sensitivity. In this work, we quantitatively study the noise power spectrum of the atomic receiver versus the number of atoms, where the number of atoms is precisely controlled by changing the diameters of flat-top excitation laser beams. The results show that under the experimental conditions that the diameters of excitation beams are less than or equal to 2 mm and the read-out frequency is larger than 70 kHz, the sensitivity of the atomic receiver is limited only by the quantum noise and, in the other conditions, limited by classical noise. However, the experimental quantum-projection-noise-limited sensitivity this atomic receiver reaches is far from the theoretical sensitivity. This is because all atoms involved in light-atom interaction will contribute to noise, but only a fraction of them participating in the radio wave transition can provide valuable signals. At the same time, the calculation of the theoretical sensitivity considers both the noise and signal are contributed by the same amount of atoms. This work is essential in making the sensitivity of the atomic receiver reach its ultimate limit and is significant in quantum precision measurement.

Physical interpretation for the correlation spectra of electromagnetically-induced-transparency resonances

The phenomenon called Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) may induce different types of correlation between two optical fields interacting with an ensemble of atoms. It is presently well known, for example, that in the vicinity of an EIT resonance the dominant correlations at low powers turn into anti-correlations as power increases. Such correlation spectra present striking power-broadening-independent features, with the best condition for measuring the characteristic linewidth occurring at the highest powers. In the present work we investigate the physical mechanisms responsible for this set of observations. Our approach is first to reproduce these effects in a better controlled experimental setup: a cold atomic ensemble, obtained from a magneto-optical trap. The results from this conceptually simpler system were then compared to a correspondingly simpler theory, which clearly relates the observed features to the interplay between two key aspects of EIT: the transparency itself and the steep normal dispersion near two-photon resonance.

Diode-laser noise conversion in an optically dense atomic sample

We report on oscillating complex noise spectra obtained when a diode-laser beam passes through a resonant dense Doppler-broadened cesium-vapor cell. Atomic coherence converts the laser phase noise into amplitude noise in the transmitted beam. We have found that the level of amplitude noise is orders of magnitude above the intrinsic laser noise. As a function of laser detuning, this noise extends over several inhomogeneous widths, depending on the spectral frequency. Numerical calculations based on a simple theory remarkably mimic the details of the experimental noise spectra.

Spontaneous noise spectroscopy of an atomic magnetic resonance

We have experimentally demonstrated a new type of noise spectroscopy, which requires neither amplitude nor frequency noise of the light source. A highly stabilized diode laser provides low-noise light for the optical magnetic resonance of Rb atoms. The laser light transmitted through the Rb vapor contains significant intensity fluctuations whose power spectrum has a distinct peak at the Larmor frequency. The fluctuations are spontaneously generated by the atoms and are attributed to the stochastic properties of the photon scattering which randomly interrupts the Larmor precession of the atomic magnetic moment.

Phase-sensitive frequency-modulation noise spectroscopy with a diode laser

We have demonstrated phase-sensitive FM noise spectroscopy, using the frequency noise of a diode laser. We obtained the reference signal for this experiment by sending part of the diode-laser beam through a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which acted as a frequency discriminator. Both the reference beam (prepared with an interferometer) and the probe beam (which probed a Fabry-Perot cavity) carried amplitude noise converted from the intrinsic frequency noise. Mixing the two noise signals allowed us to measure the absorptive and dispersive responses of the sample. This method may provide a simple and sensitive spectroscopic tool.

Absorption spectroscopy of N(2)O with phase-diffusion-noise sidebands on a lead-salt tunable diode laser

The broad phase-diffusion-noise spectrum of a lead-salt tunable diode laser (TDL) has been exploited for the detection of absorbances produced from low-pressure N(2)O vapor in the 4.47-µm spectral region. This effect has previously been observed in the detection of electronic transitions in rubidium, cesium, and molecular oxygen with anAlGaAs TDL operating in the 0.700-0.800-µm region. For the first time to our knowledge, this paper presents evidence of this phenomenon when a midinfrared rovibrational absorption line is monitored. The technique is also compared with traditional TDL spectroscopic methods for its applicability to trace-vapor monitoring.