A tunable low-drift laser stabilized to an atomic reference

We present a laser system with a linewidth and long-term frequency stability at the 50 kHz level. It is based on a Ti:Sapphire laser emitting radiation at 882 nm which is referenced to an atomic transition. For this, the length of an evacuated transfer cavity is stabilized to a reference laser at 780 nm locked to the ⁸⁵Rb D₂-line via modulation transfer spectroscopy. Gapless frequency tuning of the spectroscopy laser is realized using the sideband-locking technique to the transfer cavity. In this configuration , the linewidth of the spectroscopy laser is derived from the transfer cavity, while the long-term stability is derived from the atomic resonance. Using an optical frequency comb, the frequency stability and linewidth of both lasers are characterized by comparison against an active hydrogen maser frequency standard and an ultra-narrow linewidth laser, respectively. The laser system presented here will be used for spectroscopy of the 1s22s22p2P1/2-2P3/2 transition in sympathetically cooled Ar^{13 +} ions at 441 nm after frequency doubling.