Frequency-stabilized high-power violet laser diode with an ytterbium hollow-cathode lamp

We have demonstrated in an ytterbium laser cooling and trapping experiment a high-power violet extended-cavity diode laser (ECDL) stabilized to the Yb resonant transition at 398.9 nm in an Yb hollow-cathode lamp. A frequency-dispersion signal, which we obtained by applying a modulation-free dichroic-atomic-vapor laser lock technique, allowed us to stabilize the violet ECDL at a frequency stability below 1 MHz at 1-s average time and a useful output power of 15 mW. (C) 2003 Optical Society of America.