Abstract
The erbium atomic system is a promising candidate for an atomic Bose–Einstein condensate of atoms with a non-vanishing orbital angular momentum (L≠0) of the electronic ground state. In this paper we report on the frequency stabilization of a blue external cavity diode laser system on the 400.91 nm laser cooling transition of atomic erbium. Doppler-free saturation spectroscopy is applied within a hollow-cathode discharge tube to the corresponding electronic transition of several of the erbium isotopes. Using the technique of frequency-modulation spectroscopy, a zero-crossing error signal is produced to lock the diode laser frequency on the atomic erbium resonance. The latter is taken as a reference laser to which a second main laser system, used for laser cooling of atomic erbium, is frequency stabilized.
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Brammer, H., Ulitzsch, J., Bourouis, R. et al. Doppler-free frequency-modulation spectroscopy of atomic erbium in a hollow-cathode discharge cell. Appl. Phys. B 106, 405–408 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-011-4701-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-011-4701-2