Menlo Systems, leading supplier of precision photonics instruments, has released the ORS-Mini – an ultrastable laser with less than 2 Hz linewidth. Designed as a compact 19" rack module for field applications, the fractional frequency instability of <5x10^-15 in 1 s (MADEV) and phase noise of -94 dBc/Hz (at 10 kHz offset) are best in class. The system’s centerpiece is a 5 cm high-finesse ULE cavity, which has been licensed from the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, UK. The cubic cavity design provides the lowest vibration sensitivity reported to date and enables a rigid cavity mounting, allowing for mobile use of the apparatus. The system operates fully autonomously, can be intuitively controlled via touchscreen, and is remotely accessible via a network connection. The laser system is available at 1542 nm and at 1064 nm.

The ORS­-Mini has been conceived as an ultrastable optical reference intended for terrestrial use and is ideally suited for applications in quantum computation, as a source of ultralow-noise microwaves for radar systems, as a flywheel in optical clocks, for frequency dissemination via optical fibers, or in spectroscopy experiments.