Development of narrow linewidth, micro-integrated extended cavity diode lasers for quantum optics experiments in space

We present a micro-integrated extended cavity diode laser module for experiments on rubidium Bose–Einstein condensates and atom interferometry at 780.24 nm onboard a sounding rocket. The micro-integration concept is optimized for space application. The laser chip, micro-lenses, a volume holographic Bragg grating, micro-temperature sensors and a micro-thermoelectric cooler are integrated on an aluminium nitride ceramic micro-optical bench with a foot print of only 50 × 10 mm2. Moveable parts are omitted to allow for a very compact and robust design. The laser module provides an output power of more than 120 mW at a short term (170 μs) linewidth of 54 kHz, both full-width-at-half-maximum. The laser can be coarsely tuned by 44 GHz with a continuous tuning range of 31 GHz. The micro-integration technology presented here can be transferred to other wavelengths.