An all-solid-state laser source at 671 nm for cold atom experiments with lithium

We present an all solid-state narrow line-width laser source emitting \(670\,\mathrm{mW}\) output power at \(671\,\mathrm{nm}\) delivered in a diffraction-limited beam. The \linebreak source is based on a fre-quency-doubled diode-end-linebreak pumped ring laser operating on the \({^4F}_{3/2} \rightarrow {^4I}_{13/2}\) transition in Nd:YVO\(_4\). By using periodically-poled po-tassium titanyl phosphate (ppKTP) in an external build-up cavity, doubling efficiencies of up to 86% are obtained. Tunability of the source over \(100\,\rm GHz\) is accomplished. We demonstrate the suitability of this robust frequency-stabilized light source for laser cooling of lithium atoms. Finally a simplified design based on intra-cavity doubling is described and first results are presented.