ACTIVE FREQUENCY STABILIZATION OF A 1.062-MU-M, ND-GGG, DIODE-LASER-PUMPED NONPLANAR RING OSCILLATOR TO LESS THAN 3 HZ OF RELATIVE LINEWIDTH

We present results on the frequency stabilization of two diode-laser-pumped ring lasers that are independently locked to the same high-finesse interferometer. We measure the relative frequency stability by locking the lasers one free spectral range apart and observing the heterodyne beat note. The resultant beat note width of 2.9 Hz is consistent with the theoretical system noise-limited linewidth and is appoximately 20 times that expected for shot-noise-limited performance. © 1990 Optical Society of America.