title: High-performance iodine fiber frequency standard.
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 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 2.3×10(-12) at 1 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.
authors.affiliation: Frequency Standards and Metrology Group, School of Physics, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia. anna@physics.uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lurie
authors.forename: Fred N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Baynes
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Anstie
authors.forename: Philip S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Light
authors.forename: Fetah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Benabid
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Stace
authors.forename: Andre N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Luiten