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Rubidium Spectroscopy at 778-780 nm with a Distributed Feedback Laser Diode

We have performed high resolution spectroscopy of rubidium with a single mode continuous wave distributed feedback (DFB) laser diode. The saturation spectrum of the D_2-line of 85Rb and 87Rb was recorded with a resolution close to the natural line width. The emission frequency was actively stabilized to Doppler-free transitions with a relative accuracy of better than 7 parts in 10^9 using commercially available servo devices only. An output power of 80 mW was sufficient to allow for two-photon spectroscopy of the 5S-5D-transition of 87Rb. Further, we report on the spectral properties of the DFB diode, its tuning range and its frequency modulation properties. The line width of the diode laser, determined with high resolution Doppler free two photon spectroscopy, was 4 MHz without applying any active stabilization techniques. For time scales below 5 us the line width drops below 2 MHz.