July 2nd, 2015
TOPTICA presented the recently introduced optical frequency comb to the public for the first time at the LASER World of Photonics 2015 exhibition. Felix Rohde (Product Manager Frequency Combs) is very enthusiastic: “Even under these tough conditions at the exhibition our novel CERO-technology showed a record stability!”
Frequency combs are best suited for applications that require a precise and stable standard for optical frequencies, today mainly in quantum technology, but, given the robustness and decreasing costs, can be expected in more and more high end industrial test and measurement tasks. Typical applications that need such accurate references are high-resolution spectroscopy or optical clocks for precision-time keeping, rotational or gravitational sensing, navigation and communications. Frequency combs are ultra-precise tools that tended to be very sensitive to changing environmental conditions, i.e. temperature, humidity, vibration and noise. Therefore the applications are performed usually in isolated, high-standard laboratories including stabilization of temperature and humidity.
In contrast, TOPTICA’s frequency comb DFC is able to provide a uniquely phase-stable laser output – even under tough conditions outside the laboratory. This is achieved using proprietary CEROtechnology (“zero-vCEO”). Different from many other frequency combs, this novel technique requires no active stabilization of the phase, making it foolproof and beneficial for the user.
With this in mind the TOPTICA team was eager to demonstrate the performance of their new frequency comb live to the community at the LASER exhibition in June. The well-attended TOPTICA booth was located in a hall of about 11,000 sqm with more than 30,000 people visiting the exhibition. The ultimate proof for the system was the traditional party on Tuesday evening at the TOPTICA booth where many visitors met for fruitful discussions.
Despite the party atmosphere, the TOPTICA frequency comb achieved a value of typically less than 60 mrad RMS phase-stability, constantly measured during the show with an integration time of 20 seconds using an out-of-loop detection. This value represents a world record in stability amongst fiber-based laser systems. It was achieved although the frequency comb was surrounded by loud music and several hundred people during the party, as shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okazU5LzYx0. The TOPTICA frequency comb team celebrated this great success by serving colorful “Frequency Comb Shots” to the guests.
The DFC’s fundamental emission wavelength of 1560 nm can be converted to any required wavelength between 420 to 2200 nm using wavelength extension kits, rendering it the perfect optical-frequency reference for any narrowband laser emitting within this spectral range. The DFC complements the established product portfolio enabling TOPTICA to offer complete optical frequency- and phase stabilized laser systems, including the frequency comb, wavelength extensions and powerful diode lasers referenced directly to the comb.
