Abstract

We have constructed a compact and robust optical frequency standard based around iodine vapor loaded into the core of a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF). A $532\mathrm{nm}$ laser was frequency locked to one hyperfine component of the R(56) 32-0 ${{}^{127}I}_2$ transition using modulation transfer spectroscopy. The stabilized laser demonstrated a frequency stability of $2.3\times 10^{-12}$ at $1\mathrm{s}$, almost an order of magnitude better than previously reported for a laser stabilized to a gas-filled HC-PCF. This limit is set by the shot noise in the detection system. We present a discussion of the current limitations to the performance and a route to improve the performance by more than an order of magnitude.

©2011 Optical Society of America

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