Mach–Zehnder Stationary Two-Beam Spectroscopy Using Compound Prisms

Abstract

An interferometric optical setup for diffraction-less spectroscopy is tested as an optical design for control of interference frequency. Its design is based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer in which a pair of compound prisms is introduced in the interferometer path to obtain interference patterns, which avoids the diffraction phenomena and nonlinear dispersion found on spectrometers that use gratings. Computer simulations of the interference patterns generated by the proposed optical setup are presented, and confirmed by the experimental results of the optical implementation. The theory that describes an ideal optical setup and the experimental results show that in order to reduce the combined uncertainties of wavelength measurement, a precise control in angle deviation and magnification are required for the reduction of measurement uncertainties.