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Progress and trend of narrow-linewidth lasers

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Abstract

High frequency stability, narrow-linewidth lasers have been long dreamed of since the invention of the laser. They have recently developed dramatically due to the advent of optical clocks. State-of-the-art narrow-linewidth lasers have been constructed by using the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique to lock the laser frequencies to the resonance of ultra-stable external optical cavities with high finesse. This paper introduces the developments of narrow-linewidth lasers, with a focus on the improvements of length stability of optical reference cavities, including optical cavity designs of vibration insensitivity and low thermal noise. Future trends and alternative methods for narrow-linewidth lasers are also discussed.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China

    HaiQin Chen, YanYi Jiang, ZhiYi Bi & LongSheng Ma

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  1. HaiQin Chen
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Chen, H., Jiang, Y., Bi, Z. et al. Progress and trend of narrow-linewidth lasers. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 56, 1589–1596 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-013-5192-7

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