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Highly stable piezoelectrically tunable optical cavities

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Abstract

We have implemented highly stable and tunable frequency references using optical high finesse cavities which incorporate a piezo actuator. As piezo material we used ceramic PZT, crystalline quartz, or PZN-PT single crystals. Lasers locked to these cavities show a relative frequency stability better than \(1\times 10^{-14}, \) which is most likely not limited by the piezo actuators. The piezo cavities can be electrically tuned over more than one free spectral range (>1.5 GHz) with only a minor decrease in frequency stability. Furthermore, we present a novel cavity design, where the piezo actuator is prestressed between the cavity spacer components. This design features a hermetically sealable intra cavity volume suitable for, e.g., cavity enhanced spectroscopy.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the AEI Hannover and especially Johanna Bogenstahl for providing the expertise and facilities for the hydroxide-bonding procedure. This work is supported by the German Space Agency DLR with funds provided by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) under Grant number DLR 50 OQ 0601. E.V. Kovalchuk is also associated with the Frequency Standards Laboratory, P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow, Russia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, 12489, Berlin, Germany

    Katharina Möhle, Evgeny V. Kovalchuk, Klaus Döringshoff, Moritz Nagel & Achim Peters

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  1. Katharina Möhle
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  2. Evgeny V. Kovalchuk
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  3. Klaus Döringshoff
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  4. Moritz Nagel
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  5. Achim Peters
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Correspondence to Katharina Möhle.

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Möhle, K., Kovalchuk, E.V., Döringshoff, K. et al. Highly stable piezoelectrically tunable optical cavities. Appl. Phys. B 111, 223–231 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-012-5322-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-012-5322-0

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