Modulation transfer in Doppler broadened Λ system and its application to frequency offset locking

We investigate modulation transfer through pump induced atomic coherence in pump-probe spectroscopy of Doppler broadened medium of cesium atoms. The mechanism of modulation transfer is discussed for a three level Λ configuration under slow frequency modulation. Modulation transfer is demonstrated by performing frequency modulation spectroscopy (FMS) on a sub-natural linewidth (<2 MHz) electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) signal. Here the pump laser is modulated by acousto-optic frequency modulation and the modulation is transferred to the probe laser through atomic coherence. Finally the probe laser is locked on the first derivative spectrum of EIT signal. Such atomic frequency offset locking system totally removes the necessity of direct modulation of laser frequency, so that the spectral resolution is limited only by the practical linewidth of the laser systems. Moreover it provides a novel way to eliminate the additional frequency and intensity noise associated with direct frequency dithering, which may limit the experimental resolution.