Ultra Stable Laser on Iodine Molecular – STABI2

We propose a development of infrared laser (operating at ~ 1.5 u m) with high frequency stability, locked to an hyperfine transitions of molecular iodine near 515 nm, after frequency tripling. The targeted frequency stability is better than 10-14 t -1 / 2.
The experimental device is designed very compact, potentially compatible with space applications.
The expected frequency stability is higher than any other laser in the optical domain stabilized by the saturated absorption technique.

Lasers stabilized to optical cavities with temperature regulated offer frequency stabilities certainly more significant performance up to a few seconds if integration time, but require a more severe thermal and seismic environment.
The frequency stability of STABI2 could be transferred, in the microwave domain with a performance of at least one order of magnitude higher than the hydrogen maser, for integration timesup to about 100 seconds. Furthermore, the use of masers is more delicate in case of on board / space.experiments
Compared to commercial Rb or Cs clocks involved in space programs such as GPS or Galileo programs, the expected performance for STABI2 are 100 to 1000 times higher.