Power stabilization of a diode laser with an acousto-optic modulator

Laser power fluctuations can significantly reduce the device performances in various applications. High frequency fluctuations impact the signal-to-noise ratio, while slow variations can reduce the device repeatability or accuracy. Here we report experimental investigations on the power stabilization of a diode laser with an acousto-optic modulator. In the frequency domain, the relative power noise is reduced at the level of 2.2 x 10(-8) Hz(-1/2) in the range 1-100 kHz. The slow variations are studied in the time domain. The relative Allan standard deviation is measured at the level of 6 x 10(-7) at 100 s averaging time. Above 100 s, the instability increases and reaches 2 x 10(-6) at 10 000 s. Published by AIP Publishing.