Spectrometer wavelength calibration using spectrally resolved white-light interferometry.

ABSTRACT

A method is presented for calibrating the wavelength assignments of a spectrometer. White light is launched through an unbalanced Michelson interferometer to produce an optical signal that varies strongly, but predictably, with wavelength. The spectrometer output is then compared to the predicted signal and the deviations found are assumed to be due to wavelength assignment errors, permitting the spectrometer to be calibrated. The details of this process are presented with an example.