| Citation: | WANG Xu, GAO Xue-rong, LI Pan, QI Ke-qi, LIU He-shan. Design and experimental verification of unequal-arm interferometric frequency stabilization scheme in taiji program[J]. Chinese Optics. doi: 10.37188/CO.2026-0029
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Laser frequency noise is the dominant noise source in space-based gravitational wave detection systems. A multi-stage suppression approach is planned, employing PDH (Pound-Drever-Hall) cavity-locking pre-stabilization, arm-locking, and time-delay interferometry. However, with the advancement of picometer-level measurement, unequal-arm interferometric frequency stabilization using free-space laser links has emerged as a popular alternative to the PDH cavity-locking pre-stabilization scheme. This approach can effectively utilize existing space laser interferometers without requiring additional ultra-stable reference cavities. Based on the first-generation interferometric optical platform of the Taiji program, this paper verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of an unequal-arm interferometer frequency stabilization scheme using the existing interferometric optical path. Experimental results show that the free-running laser frequency noise is reduced by approximately one order of magnitude overall, reaching 3 kHz/Hz1/2 at 1 Hz. Noise analysis reveals that in the 0.2 Hz–1 Hz band, the main limiting factor is the background noise of the interferometer. In the 0.1 Hz–1 mHz band, the dominant noise source is the power noise of the free-running laser. Future work will focus on further reducing the interferometer noise to 1 pm/Hz1/2 and exploring the feasibility of replacing the PDH cavity-locking scheme with frequency stabilization using the existing interferometric optical path.
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