A compact diode laser system for small optically pumped cesium beam frequency standards

We have made a very compact diode laser system for our optically pumped cesium beam frequency standard experimental setup. With the new developed saturated absorption spectrum setup the whole laser mount with all optical parts is small in a /spl Phi/8 cm/spl times/5 cm cylinder. A bi-directional laser diode temperature stabilizer doing either cooling or heating has been developed to stabilize the laser diode temperature within /spl plusmn/4 mK in wide ambient temperature range (10-30/spl deg/C). In addition, an automatic frequency lock device could lock the diode laser frequency to a cesium D/sub 2/ line by simply a button pressing and it could re-lock the laser frequency itself in case the frequency lock was broken. The techniques mentioned above make the diode laser system very durable. It is resistant to mechanical vibration and wide ambient temperature change, and it is very easy to operate. It can be locked to a certain cesium transition line for several months and it is movable while the frequency is locked. These features make this system suitable for a small optically pumped cesium beam frequency standard.