Tutorial on laser locking techniques and the manufacturing of vapor cells for spectroscopy

Abstract

This tutorial provides a hands-on entry point about laser locking for atomic vapor research and related research such as laser cooling. We furthermore introduce common materials and methods for the fabrication of vapor cells as a tool for this research. Its aim is not to be exhaustive, but rather to provide an overview about the possible techniques that are actively employed in labs today. Some critical parameters of locked laser system for use with thermal atomic vapors are introduced and discussed. To exemplify this, we describe a versatile locking system that caters for many of the needs we found during our research with thermal atomic vapors. We also emphasize the compromises we took during our decision-making process.

Keywords

• atomic physics
• molecular physics
• laser locking
• laser stabilization
• Pound–Drever–Hall
• FPGA