Temperature-tunable sapphire windows for reflection loss-free operation of vapor cells

Abstract.

We have developed a “temperature-tunable cell”, for which the reflected intensity of a laser beam on a chosen window can be reduced below 0.5% of the incident intensity, if one can control the cell temperature with an accuracy better than 1 °C. This application relies on the use of windows made from highly parallel and smooth (0001) sapphire plates. More generally, such sapphire plates have proven to be extremely well-suited components in the field of atomic physics and laser applications.