Broad bandwidth interference filter-stabilized external cavity diode laser with narrow linewidth below 100 kHz

Interference filter-stabilized external cavity diode lasers (ECDLs) have properties of simple configurations, high stabilities, and narrow linewidths. However, the interference filter used in common ECDL designs requires an ultra-narrow bandwidth (about 0.3 nm) to achieve mode selection, that is considerably expensive and not yet available for a wide range of wavelengths. In this paper, a robust ECDL using an available broad bandwidth (about 4 nm) interference filter as the wavelength discriminator is constructed and tested. The ECDL demonstrated a narrow Lorentzian fitted linewidth of 95 kHz and a spectral purity of 2.9 MHz. The long-term frequency stability of the ECDL reaches 5.59×10^-12.