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G. A. Kazakov, J.G. Bohnet, Thorsten Schumm:
"Prospects for a bad-cavity laser using a large ion crystal";
Physical Review A, 96 (2017), 023412.

We propose to build a bad-cavity laser using forbidden transitions in large ensembles of cold ions that form a Coulomb crystal in a linear Paul trap. This laser might realize an active optical frequency standard able to serve as a local oscillator in next-generation optical clock schemes. In passive optical clocks, large ensembles of
ions appear less promising, as they suffer from inhomogeneous broadening due to quadrupole interactions and micromotion-related shifts. In bad-cavity lasers, however, the radiating dipoles can synchronize and generate stable and narrow-linewidth radiation. Furthermore, for specific ions, micromotion-induced shifts can be largely suppressed by operating the ion trap at a magic frequency. We discuss the output radiation properties and perform quantitative estimations for lasing on the 3 D 2 → 1 S 0 transition in 176Lu+
ions in a spherically symmetric trap.

Bad cavity laser, superradiance, active frequency standard, Paul trap, trapped ions

http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.96.023412

http://lanl.arxiv.org/abs/1704.08318