An open source digital servo for AMO physics experiments

2015/08/25 by Leibrandt, David R., Heidecker, Jason
#Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)

paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1508.06319

Abstract

We describe a general purpose digital servo optimized for feedback control of lasers in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics experiments. The servo is capable of feedback bandwidths up to roughly 1~MHz (limited by the 320~ns total latency); loop filter shapes up to fifth order; multiple-input, multiple-output control; and automatic lock acquisition. The configuration of the servo is controlled via a graphical user interface, which also provides a rudimentary software oscilloscope and tools for measurement of system transfer functions. We illustrate the functionality of the digital servo by describing its use in two example scenarios: frequency control of the laser used to probe the narrow clock transition of ²⁷Al⁺ in an optical atomic clock, and length control of a cavity used for resonant frequency doubling of a laser.

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