Instrumentation Laboratory Project Page
Project: TA Current and Temperature Control System
Department: Physics
Primary Investigator: Dr. Samir Bali
Purpose: The cooling and trapping of atoms at
microKelvin temperatures requires ultra-stable frequency-tunable diode
laser systems, operating in single transverse and longitudinal mode
with a linewidth < 1MHz. However, these diode laser systems are
limited in output power to typically less than 10 milliWatts. If the
goal is to attain up to a few Watts of single-mode optical power
suitable for state-of-the-art experimentation in laser cooling and atom
trapping, one of the best methods currently available is to use a
tapered amplifier (TA) chip, which is a semiconductor device that
achieves high power while retaining the narrow linewidth and stability
of the diode laser.
These tapered amplifier systems are available commercially in a price
range of $14k - $47k per unit, depending on choice of center wavelength
(650-110nm) and desired output power (0.15 - 2.5W). The IL built a
state-of-the-art tapered amplifier systems, along with the driver
circuits, at a cost of less than $5k per unit. The systems the IL built
rival the commercial units in performance. Detailed plans for the
design and construction of these systems are presented in "Design and
construction of cost-effective tapered amplifier systems for laser
cooling and trapping experiments", J. Kangara, et al., American Journal
of Physics, 82 (8), 805 - 817 (2014). This paper is one of 16 papers
selected by the American Association of Physics Teachers (see http://www.aapt.org/Resources/Diodes.cfm)
to celebrate the 2014 Nobel in physics.
IL Comment: Researcher required a system that
would monitor and control both the current and temperature of a TA
(thermal amplifier) diode chip that they are using for their research
experiments. Given the high cost of the TA (over $3K each), the
electronics in this system need to be robust and reliable to run for
extended periods of time.
The design consists of a custom temperature and current control system.
For the temperature control system, if the temperature deviates 1 °C
above the set point, the current out the TA is taken to 0 Amps
immediately (in the order of nanoseconds) to prevent damage to the TA.
The output current is controlled via remote set point to a Thorlabs
LD3000R current controller. The temperature output is controlled via
remote set point to Wavelength Electronics temperature control board.
The researcher is able to monitor the temperature set point, process
value, and error between the two. Also, the current set point can be
monitored as well.
Cost to researcher: $2382.09 (for 3 systems)