Abstract
The goal of this Masters project is to construct a laser system to facilitate future experiments with atomic Dysprosium via the transition at 421.29 nm. Dysprosium is of interest due to its magnetic properties, namely that it is tied with Terbium as the most magnetic element. Although there have been a number of investigations into laser cooling and trapping clouds of Dysprosium atoms, we would like to (in the future) interact with and manipulate individual atoms of Dysprosium. The first step towards this is to construct a laser system capable of interacting with the atom/s. To this end, an External Cavity Diode Laser (ECDL) operating at 421.29 nm and an optical reference cavity mounted in a vacuum are designed, constructed, and implemented.