There is an increasing demand for precise molecular spectroscopy, in particular in the mid-infrared fingerprint window that hosts a considerable number of vibrational signatures, whether it be for modeling our atmosphere, interpreting astrophysical spectra or testing fundamental physics. We present a high-resolution mid-infrared spectrometer traceable to primary frequency standards. It combines a widely tunable ultra-narrow Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL), an optical frequency comb and a compact multipass cell. The QCL frequency is stabilized onto a comb controlled with a remote near-infrared ultra-stable laser, transferred through a fiber link. The resulting QCL frequency stability is below 10 -15 from 0.1 to 10s and its frequency uncertainty of 4×10 -14 is given by the remote frequency standards. Continuous tuning over ~400 MHz is reported. We use the apparatus to perform saturated absorption spectroscopy of methanol in the low-pressure multipass cell and demonstrate a statistical uncertainty at the kHz level on transition center frequencies, confirming its potential for driving the next generation technology required for precise spectroscopic measurements.
We describe a fiber ring cavity for transferring frequency stability from a metrological optical reference at 1542 nm to tunable lasers covering 100 nm around 1.55 µm and show a stability transfer to the 10−15 level in relative value. The optical length of the ring is controlled by two actuators: a cylindrical piezoelectric tube (PZT) actuator on which a portion of the fiber is coiled and glued for fast corrections (vibrations) acting on the length of the fiber, and a Peltier module for slow corrections acting on its temperature. We characterize the stability transfer and analyze the limitations imposed by two critical effects in the setup: Brillouin backscattering and the polarization modulation generated by the electro-optic modulators (EOMs) used in the error signal detection scheme. We show that it is possible to reduce the impact of these limitations to a level below the detection threshold imposed by the servo noise. We also show that in the long term, the limitation to the stability transfer is a thermal sensitivity of –550 Hz/K/nm which could be reduced by active control of the ambient temperature.
We report measurements of absolute frequencies of various polyatomic species around 10 µm, at level of accuracies ranging from 10 Hz to 10 kHz, using a widely tuneable SItraceable optical frequency comb-stabilized quantum cascade laser.
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