Lippmann waveguide spectrometer with enhanced throughput and bandwidth for space and commercial applications.

This article presents an innovative high spectral resolution waveguide spectrometer, from the concept to the prototype demonstration and the test results. The main goal is to build the smallest possible Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) with state of the art technology. This waveguide FTS takes advantage of a customized pattern of nano-samplers fabricated on the surface of a planar waveguide that allows the increase of the measurement points necessary for increasing the spectral bandwidth of the FTS in a fully static way. The use of a planar waveguide on the other hand allows enhancing the throughput in a waveguide spectrometer compared to the conventional devices made of single-mode waveguides. A prototype is made in silicon oxynitride/silicon dioxide technology and characterized in the visible range. This waveguide spectrometer shows a nominal bandwidth of 256~nm at a central wavelength of 633~nm thanks to a custom pattern of nanodisks providing a µm sampling interval. The implementation of this innovative waveguide FTS for a real-case scenario is explored and further development of such device for the imaging FTS application is discussed.

Time-domain optical reflectometry measurements using a frequency comb interferometer.

We characterize the temporal response of fiber-optic components using a fiber-based frequency comb interferometer; measurements are compared and validated against a commercial instrument. The main advantage of the instrument lies in the absence of moving parts or a tunable laser, leading to very fast scanning. A measurement of a mechanical distortion, cycled at 130 Hz, on a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is presented. A complete profile of the mechanical distortion is taken every 2.5 ms (400 Hz scanning speed) and each "snapshot" is taken in 200 micros. This scanning speed was arbitrarily chosen, and the instrument could be set to scan much faster, up to hundreds of kilohertz. With high-reflectivity FBGs, the same instrument could scan simultaneously the profile of 140 wavelength-multiplexed FBGs at 2 kHz.

Active Fourier-transform spectroscopy combining the direct RF beating of two fiber-based mode-locked lasers with a novel referencing method.

A new approach is described to compensate the variations induced by laser frequency instabilities in the recently demonstrated Fourier transform spectroscopy that is based on the RF beating spectra of two frequency combs generated by mode-locked lasers. The proposed method extracts the mutual fluctuations of the lasers by monitoring the beating signal for two known optical frequencies. From this information, a phase correction and a new time grid are determined that allow the full correction of the measured interferograms. A complete mathematical description of the new active spectroscopy method is provided. An implementation with fiberbased mode-locked lasers is also demonstrated and combined with the correction method a resolution of 0.067 cm(-1) (2 GHz) is reported. The ability to use slightly varying and inexpensive frequency comb sources is a significant improvement compared to previous systems that were limited to controlled environment and showed reduced spectral resolution. The fast measurement rate inherent to the RF beating principle and the ease of use brought by the correction method opens the venue to many applications.

Hybrid sampling approach for imaging Fourier-transform spectrometry.

A new approach to interferogram sampling is demonstrated for Fourier-transform spectrometry. Sampling of the infrared channel is triggered at equidistant optical path differences while samples are time-referenced with a high-resolution digital clock. This hybrid method exploits the advantages of both time and position-sampling techniques. It minimizes the dataload while allowing a postcorrection scheme to remove sampling errors. It is therefore highly adapted to imaging spectrometers designed for massively parallel spatial sampling. Also, this technique is particularly interesting for spectrometers equipped with an integrating detector, such as a CCD camera, since it can account for the inevitable delay caused by camera integration.

All-fiber comb filter with tunable free spectral range.

We demonstrate a new class of all-fiber frequency comb filter that exhibits unprecedented capabilities for tuning the comb's free spectral range (FSR). The filter exploits a spectral Talbot-like effect in a sampled chirped fiber Bragg grating. The FSR is tailored by application of a linear strain gradient to modify the relative phase between the samples. The FSR can be tuned in discrete steps that correspond to the nominal value of the FSR of the sampled unchirped grating divided by integer factors. In this demonstration the FSR is varied from 51 to 3.9 GHz.

Relative humidity sensor with optical fiber Bragg gratings.

A novel concept for an intrinsic relative humidity (RH) sensor that uses polyimide-recoated fiber Bragg gratings is presented. Tests in a controlled environment indicate that the sensor has a linear, reversible, and accurate response behavior at 10-90% RH and at 13-60 degrees C. The RH and temperature sensitivities were measured as a function of coating thickness, and the thermal and hygroscopic expansion coefficients of the polyimide coating were determined.