Femtosecond frequency comb based distance measurement in air

Balling, P.; Křen, Petr; Mašika, Pavel; Berg, S. A. van den

doi:10.1364/oe.17.009300

Cited by 128 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The scheme is based on a Michelsontype interferometry with optical interference between individual pulses. The technique proposed by Ye has been demonstrated for interferometric measurement of short displacement [2,3]. The main advantage of applying a frequency comb for distance measurement is the large range of nonambiguity, which is determined by the cavity length of the pulsed laser, ranging from about 30 cm to 3 m. It is thus not necessary to rely on incremental measurement of the optical phase.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

High-accuracy long-distance measurements in air with a frequency comb laser

Cui¹,

Zeitouny²,

Bhattacharya³

et al. 2009

Opt. Lett.

111

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We experimentally demonstrate that a femtosecond frequency comb laser can be applied as a tool for longdistance measurement in air. Our method is based on the measurement of cross correlation between individual pulses in a Michelson interferometer. From the position of the correlation functions, distances of up to 50 m have been measured. We have compared this measurement to a counting laser interferometer, showing an agreement with the measured distance within 2 m (4 ϫ 10 −8 at 50 m). © 2009 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 320.7100, 320.2250, 320.1590 Traditional techniques for long-distance measurements are often based on optical interferometry when the demands on accuracy rise. Most of these interferometric techniques rely on incremental measurements of phase accumulation. A priori knowledge of the distance to be measured is required or a complex multiwavelength system may be needed. In 2004, Ye [1] proposed a simple scheme for measuring long distances in space with a stabilized femtosecond frequency comb. The scheme is based on a Michelsontype interferometry with optical interference between individual pulses. The technique proposed by Ye has been demonstrated for interferometric measurement of short displacement [2,3]. The main advantage of applying a frequency comb for distance measurement is the large range of nonambiguity, which is determined by the cavity length of the pulsed laser, ranging from about 30 cm to 3 m. It is thus not necessary to rely on incremental measurement of the optical phase. The ambiguity is easily overcome by, e.g., a laser distance meter. The stabilized frequency comb has been applied as a source in various distance measurement schemes [4,5]. In this Letter, we demonstrate distance measurements of up to 50 m in air by analyzing the cross correlation between pulses emitted from a stabilized frequency comb source. We have implemented a model of pulse propagation in air to account for the effect of air dispersion on the measured cross-correlation functions. The measurement results obtained with the frequency comb and a conventional counting laser interferometer are compared.A mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser is the frequency comb source, with both the repetition frequency and the carrier-envelop offset (CEO) frequency referenced to a cesium atomic clock (Fig. 1). The pulse duration is 40 fs, and the repetition rate f r is locked at approximately 1 GHz, corresponding to a pulse to pulse distance l pp = c / ͑n g f r ͒ of 30 cm. Here c is the speed of light in vacuum and n g is the group refractive index at the center wavelength. The CEO frequency f 0 is fixed at 180 MHz. The center wavelength of the pulses is 815 nm, with an FWHM of about 20 nm. After collimation the beam is sent to a Michelson interferometer. One part of the beam is reflected by a hollow corner cube mounted on a piezoelectric transducer (PZT) along the short reference arm. The length of the short arm can be scanned by a translation stage. The other part of the beam is reflected by two mirrors and propagates along...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

High-accuracy long-distance measurements in air with a frequency comb laser

Cui¹,

Zeitouny²,

Bhattacharya³

et al. 2009

Opt. Lett.

111

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The advent of a new generation of mobile atomic clocks [16,17] and comb-based free-space optical frequency transfer [18] could permit precise timing networks, tests of relativity, and clock-based geodesy [19,20]. Finally, the precision and accuracy of comb-based LADARs are attractive for manufacturing and remote sensing in general [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]]. Here we demonstrate a self-referenced fiber frequency comb that can operate in the field while retaining its optical coherence and 5 femtosecond-level timing-jitter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operation of an optically coherent frequency comb outside the metrology lab

et al. 2014

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We demonstrate a self-referenced fiber frequency comb that can operate outside the wellcontrolled optical laboratory. The frequency comb has residual optical linewidths of < 1 Hz, subradian residual optical phase noise, and residual pulse-to-pulse timing jitter of 2.4 -5 fs, when locked to an optical reference. This fully phase-locked frequency comb has been successfully operated in a moving vehicle with 0.5 g peak accelerations and on a shaker table with a sustained 0.5 g rms integrated acceleration, while retaining its optical coherence and 5-fs-level timing jitter. This frequency comb should enable metrological measurements outside the laboratory with the precision and accuracy that are the hallmarks of comb-based systems.Work of the U.S.

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“…Frequency comb lasers [1,2] have been around since the early 2000's, enabling highly-accurate optical time and frequency measurements resulting in many applications [3][4][5][6]. Integrated optical frequency comb lasers would pave the way to an even broader application of comb technology because of low fabrication and maintenance costs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frequency comb generation by CW laser injection into a quantum-dot mode-locked laser

Pinkert¹,

Salumbides²,

Tahvili³

et al. 2012

Opt. Express

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Abstract:We report on frequency comb generation at 1.5 μm by injection of a CW laser in a hybridly mode-locked InAs/InP two-section quantum-dot laser (HMLQDL). The generated comb has > 60 modes spaced by ∼ 4.5 GHz and a -20 dBc width of > 100 GHz (23 modes) at > 30 dB signal to background ratio. Comb generation was observed with the CW laser (red) detuned more than 20 nm outside the HMLQDL spectrum, spanning a large part of the gain spectrum of the quantum dot material. It is shown that the generated comb is fully coherent with the injected CW laser and RF frequency used to drive the hybrid mode-locking. This method of comb generation is of interest for the creation of small and robust frequency combs for use in optical frequency metrology, high-frequency (> 100 GHz) RF generation and telecommunication applications.

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Femtosecond frequency comb based distance measurement in air

Cited by 128 publications

References 13 publications

High-accuracy long-distance measurements in air with a frequency comb laser

High-accuracy long-distance measurements in air with a frequency comb laser

Operation of an optically coherent frequency comb outside the metrology lab

Frequency comb generation by CW laser injection into a quantum-dot mode-locked laser

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