Polarization spectroscopy of atomic erbium in a hollow cathode lamp

In this work we perform polarization spectroscopy of erbium atoms in a hollow cathode lamp (HCL). We review the theory behind Doppler-free polarization spectroscopy, theoretically model the expected erbium polarization spectra, and compare the numerically calculated spectra to our experimental data. We further analyze the dependence of the measured spectra on the HCL current and the peak intensities of our pump and probe lasers to determine conditions. Applications include wavelength stabilization of diode laser radiation to the 400.91 nm erbium transition. (paper)