Abstract
We present a laser wavelength meter based on a commercial color sensor chip. The chip consists of an array of photodiodes with different absorptive color filters. By comparing the relative amplitudes of light on the photodiodes, the wavelength of light can be determined. In addition to absorption in the filters, etalon effects add additional spectral features which improve the precision of the device. Comparing the measurements from the device to a commercial wavelength meter and to an atomic reference, we found that the device has picometer-level precision and picometer-scale drift over a period longer than a month.
Highlights
Precise wavelength measurements of lasers and other narrow-band light sources are critical for many applications, such as laser spectroscopy and laser cooling and trapping
We have developed a small, robust, and inexpensive wavelength meter based on a commercial color sensor chip
After allowing the laser wavelength to settle for six seconds, 20 wavelength readings were rapidly taken from both our device and the commercial wavelength meter at a rate of about four readings every second
Summary
Precise wavelength measurements of lasers and other narrow-band light sources are critical for many applications, such as laser spectroscopy and laser cooling and trapping. A variety of commercial devices, with different precisions and advantages, are used to measure wavelength [1]. Many other devices as well as variants of these have been researched (see, for example [7,8,9,10,11,12]) We have developed a small, robust, and inexpensive wavelength meter based on a commercial color sensor chip. While this chip was designed for applications involving broad-band light, such as color balancing of TV and cell phone displays and cameras [13], we have been able to use the device to determine the wavelength of single-frequency lasers with an accuracy of a few picometers with picometer-level drift over month-long time scales. It is possible that using other color sensor chips, or a discrete set of photodiodes, possibly using a larger number of different absorptive filters, could improve performance
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