Laser stabilization to an atomic transition using an optically generated dispersive lineshape

We report on a simple and robust technique to generate a dispersive signal which serves as an error signal to electronically stabilize a monomode cw laser emitting around an atomic resonance. We explore nonlinear effects in the laser beam propagation through a resonant vapor by way of spatial filtering. The performance of this technique is validated by locking semiconductor lasers to the cesium and rubidiumD2 line and observing long-term reduction of the emission frequency drifts, making the laser well adapted for many atomic physics applications.