Broadband Fourier-transform spectrometer enabling modal subset identification in Fabry-Pérot-based astrocombs.

ABSTRACT

A multi-GHz frequency comb (astrocomb) is typically realized by filtering modes of a sub-GHz frequency comb (source comb) in a Fabry-Pérot etalon, which can lead to ambiguities in determining which subset of source comb modes has been filtered. Here we demonstrate a broadband Fourier-transform spectrometer (FTS) with a resolving power of R = 430,000 at 550 nm, and apply it to the identification of comb subsets from a filtered 1­GHz supercontinuum. After apodization the FTS demonstrated an instrument line shape width of 1.26 GHz which enabled individual comb-line positions to be identified with an uncertainty of 17.6 MHz, a relative precision of 5 × 10-8. Correcting for air dispersion allowed the instrument to determine the comb-mode spacing to an accuracy of 300 Hz and filtered subsets of source comb modes to be uniquely distingished across the entire comb bandwidth from 550 to 900 nm. The inherently broadband design of the FTS makes it suitable in future applications for calibrating ultra-broadband astrocombs employed by instruments such as ELT HIRES.