Abstract

The frequency of a dye laser is stabilized to the ³P₁–¹S₀ intercombination line of ⁴⁰Ca through use of the first-derivative signal of the Ramsey fringes detected in a Ca atomic beam. The long-term stability of the frequency of the Ca-stabilized dye laser is estimated to be a few kilohertz from the servo error signal. The wavelength of the Ca-stabilized dye-laser beam is measured by comparison with that for an I₂-stabilized He–Ne laser, which is one of the current wavelength standards. The measured wavelength is evaluated to be 657.4594396 nm with an uncertainty of better than 1 × 10⁻⁹.

© 1991 Optical Society of America

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