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External
cavity diode lasers provide affordable sources of laser light with
narrow frequency bandwidths suitable for spectroscopy and for laser
cooling and trapping of atoms. Laser cooling and trapping of neutral
atoms is a cutting edge research field in physics, with applications in
ultra precise time measurement and manipulation of matter on the atomic
scale. Our project involves the development of external cavity diode
lasers and the electronic circuitry to control the lasers, their
application in spectroscopy and laser cooling of rubidium atoms,
followed by future applications in the fields of laser cooling and
atomic and molecular spectroscopy. This project is supported by
the National Research Foundation under the Thuthuka programme for Women
in Research and the CSIR National Laser Centre through the Rental Pool
programme. |
External cavity diode laser
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The group:
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Researcher: Dr. CM Steenkamp
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Current students:
Mr. CI Rigby
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Graduated students: Mr. GP Nyamuda (MSc, 2006),
Me. GN Botha (MSc, March 2009)
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Selected publications:
(for complete list of publications see Publications)
Theses
- G.P.
Nyamuda. "Design and development of an external cavity diode laser for
laser cooling and spectroscopy applications", M.Sc. thesis, University
of Stellenbosch , December 2006. Supervisors: C.M. Steenkamp (US) and
E.G. Rohwer (US)
- GN Botha.
“Development of an external cavity diode laser for application to
spectroscopy and laser cooling and trapping of rubidium.”M.Sc. thesis,
University of Stellenbosch , March 2009. Supervisors: C.M. Steenkamp
(US) and E.G. Rohwer (US)
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