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Journal of Optics Applications
July, 2013, Volume 2, Issue 3, PP.35-42
A Novel Laser Wavelength Measurement
Method Based on Scanning Fabry-Perot
Interferometer
Xiao Xiao,

Yuanfu Lu, J ianhua Chen,

Xiaojing Gong,

Guangzhi Feng, Wenlong Yu, Fengqi Yu, J in Lei
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
E-mail: xiao.xiao@siat.ac.cn
Abstract
A novel laser wavelength measurement method based on scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer is proposed here. The two basic laser
wavelength measurement instruments and the classification according to their operation principles are introduced at first, and then the
Fabry-Perot interferometer-based wavelength measurement technique is discussed in details. The confocal cavity configuration based
scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer SA200-12B as well as its novel application in the measurement of an external cavity diode laser
output wavelength is articulated at last.
Keywords: Laser Wavelength Measurement; Scanning Fabry-Perot I nterferometer; Confocal Cavity Configuration
1 INTRODUCTION
Until now, there are two basic instruments used for the measurement of the laser wavelength: one of which is Optical
Spectrum Analyzer, and the other is Optical Wavelength Meter. According to the operation principle of Optical
Spectrum Analyzer, it can be divided into three types: one type is based on Michelson interferometer; the other is
based on Diffraction grating; the third is based on Fabry-Perot interferometer. For Optical Wavelength Meter, its
operation principle is mainly based on Michelson interferometer.
Michelson interferometer-based wavelength measurement technique belongs to dual-beam interference measurement
technique, which can typically provide a measurement accuracy of better than 0.001 nm, would only be suitable to
measure optical signals with discrete wavelength components, rather than to measure power spectral densities of
optical noises.
Diffraction grating-based wavelength measurement technique belongs to dispersion spectroscopic measurement
technique, which is unable to easily provide a very fine spectral resolution because of the limitation by the groove-
line densities of diffraction grating and the maximum optical beam diameter projected onto the grating, and has wide
wavelength coverage, usually covers a wavelength range from 400 nm to 1700 nm [2].
Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) was invented in 1879, as the most important precise measuring instrument since
then, it has already obtained the massive use in each domain of scientific research. Charles Fabry developed the
multi-beam interference theory of light during 1890~1892, and based on this theory with his colleague Alfred Perot
in 1897 manufactured the first FPI composed of two parallel fixed plate glasses, both sides of which were coated
with very thin metal silver film, and the index of reflection of its metal reflector was about 90% (the pilot model is
shown in Figure 1) [3]. The biggest merit of FPI lies in its extremely high resolution, for modern FPI which has a use
wavelength of about 500 nm, when the cavity thickness is 1 cm and the index of reflection of reflector is 95%, the
winnable resolution is 1.210
6
. In special application situation, 2.510
7
can be achieved, which is almost the 1~2
magnitudes of prism and grating spectrograph. At present, because FPI has the merit in the precise wavelength
measurement that other optical testing instruments fail to compare with, it has been utilized in the analysis of atomic
hyperfine structure, the calibration of standard meter according to the optical wavelength, laser cavity, and other
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special application situations.

FIG. 1 THE EARLIEST FABRY-PEROT INTERFEROMETER MODEL
2 FABRY-PEROT INTERFEROMETER-BASED WAVELENGTH MEASUREMENT
TECHNIQUE
Fabry-Perot interferometer-based wavelength measurement technique belongs to multi-beam interference
measurement technique, can easily provide spectral resolution better than 10 MHz, which is approximately 0.08 pm
in a 1550 nm wavelength window; however, it only has relatively narrow wavelength coverage compared with
Michelson interferometer-based wavelength measurement technique [2]. In Fabry-Perot interferometer-based
wavelength measurement technique, Fabry-Perot interferometer is usually employed as the optical measuring
instrument. Optical spectrum analyzer based on scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer is a popular optical instrument
for its superior spectral resolution. The basic configuration of a Fabry-Perot interferometer is shown in Figure 2,
where two parallel mirrors, both having power reflectivity R, are separated by a distance d [1,6]. If a light beam is
launched onto the mirrors at an incident angle , a part of the light will penetrate through the left mirror and
propagate to the right mirror at point A where part of the light will pass through the mirror and the other part will be
reflected back to the left mirror at point B. This process will be repeated many times until the amplitude is
significantly reduced due to the multiple reflection losses. The power transfer function of a Fabry-Perot
interferometer is periodic in the frequency domain, and it can be expressed in equation (1) using the optical
wavelength as the variable:
2
(1 )
( ) ,
2 cos
2 2
(1 ) 4 sin ( )
R
T
FP
dn
R R

t o

=
+

(1)
where n is the refractive index of the material between the two mirrors.

FIG. 2 ILLUSTRATION OF A FABRY-PEROT INTERFEROMETER WITH TWO PARTIALLY REFLECTING
MIRRORS SEPARATED BY A DISTANCE D [2]
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For a fixed optical wavelength , equation (1) is a periodic transfer function of the incidence angle . If it is assumed
that the incidence angle is =0, this Fabry-Perot interferometer configuration is known as a collinear configuration.
With =0, equation (1) can be simplified to equation (2):
2
(1 )
( ) ,
2 2
(1 ) 4 sin (2 / )
R
T
FP
R R nd

=
+
(2)
In this simple case, the power transmission is a periodic function of the signal optical frequency. Figure 3 shows two
examples of power transfer functions in a collinear Fabry-Perot interferometer configuration where the mirror
separation is d = 5 mm, the media refractive index is n = 1, and the mirror reflectivity is R = 0.95 for Figure 3(a) and
R = 0.8 for Figure 3(b). With a higher mirror reflectivity, the transmission peaks become narrower and the
transmission minima become lower. Therefore the Fabry-Perot interferometer has better frequency selectivity with
high mirror reflectivity. In Figure 3(b), free spectral range (FSR) is the frequency separation f between adjacent
transmission peaks of an FPI, which is inversely proportional to the cavity optical length nd; and the FSR can be
found from equation (1) as:
,
2 cos
c
FSR f
nd o
= A = (3)

FIG. 3 TRANSMISSION VERSUS THE SIGNAL WAVELENGTH OF A COLLINEAR FABRY-PEROT
INTERFEROMETER WITH MIRROR SEPARATION D = 5 MM, MEDIA REFRACTIVE INDEX N = 1, AND MIRROR
REFLECTIVITY R = 0.95 (A) AND R = 0.8 (B) [2]
HPBW, the width of each transmission peak of the FPI power transfer function, which indicates the frequency
selectivity of the FPI, can be expressed as:
(1 )
,
2 cos
R c
HPBW
nd R t o

= (4)
The ratio between the FSR and HPBW is defined as Finesse:
,
1
FSR R
Finesse
HPBW R
t
= =

(5)
Finesse is a quality measure of FPI that depends only on the effective mirror reflectivity R.
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Contrast is the ratio between the transmission maximum and the transmission minimum of the FPI power transfer
function. It specifies the ability of wavelength discrimination if the FPI is used as an optical filter. From the power
transfer function equation (1), the highest transmission is T
max
= 1 and the minimum transmission is T
min
= (1-R)
2
/
[(1-R)
2
+4R]. Therefore the contrast of the FPI is:
4 2
2 max
1 1 ( ) ,
2
(1 )
min
T R Finesse
C
T
R
t
= = + = +

(6)
From equation (2), the wavelength
m
corresponding to the m
th
transmission peak can be found as:
2
,
nd
m
m
= (7)
By changing the length of the cavity, this peak transmission wavelength will move. When the cavity length is
scanned by an amount of
,
2
m
d
n

o = (8)
The m
th
transmission peak frequency will be scanned over one entire FSR. To measure the signal spectral density
over a wavelength band corresponding to an FSR, it is only needed to sweep the cavity length for approximately half
the wavelength. This is the basic mechanism to make an OSA using Fabry-Perot interferometer. The mechanical
scanning can usually be accomplished using a voltage-controlled piezo-electric transducer (PZT); therefore the
mirror displacement (or the change in cavity length d) is linearly proportional to the applied voltage [2].
3 THE CONFOCAL CAVITY CONFIGURATION BASED SCANNING FABRY-PEROT
INTERFEROMETER AS WELL AS ITS APPLICATION IN THE MEASUREMENT OF AN
EXTERNAL CAVITY DIODE LASER OUTPUT WAVELENGTH
There are various types of commercially available scanning FPIs, such as plano-mirror design, confocal-mirror
design, and all-fiber design. The confocal-mirror design specially mentioned here uses a pair of concave mirrors
whose radii of curvature are equal to their separation, resulting in a common focus point in the middle of the cavity,
as is shown in Figure 4. An FPI using this confocal configuration usually has much higher finesse compared with
plano-mirror configuration. The reason is that the focus of the incident beam reduces possible finesse degradation
due to mirror surface imperfections. This configuration also has better tolerance to the quality of the incident beam.
However, the cavity length of the FPI is determined by the curvature of the mirror, which cannot be adjusted.
Therefore, FPI using confocal-mirror design has a fixed free spectral range and is not as flexible as that using plano-
mirror design.

FIG. 4 CONFIGURATION OF A SCANNING FABRY-PEROT INTERFEROMETER USING CONFOCAL-MIRROR
DESIGN
The scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer based on confocal cavity configuration uses a piezoelectric transducer to
vary the separation between its two concave mirrors, and then the cavity will act as a very narrow band-pass filter.
The SA200-12B, a high finesse confocal-mirror based scanning FPI manufactured by THORLABS Corporation, is
used to examine the fine structures of the spectral characteristics of continuous wave (CW) lasers, as is shown in
Figure 5. It has a finesse of 209, a free spectral range of 1.5 GHz, a resolution of 7.5 MHz, and a mirror separation of
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50 mm [4]. With SA200-12B, the laser wavelength of an irradiation from an external cavity diode laser (ECDL) in
the infrared band can be measured.

FIG. 5 THE SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF A HIGH FINESSE CONFOCAL-MIRROR BASED SCANNING FABRY-
PEROT INTERFEROMETER SA200-12B

FIG. 6 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF AN ECDL OPTICAL SPECTRUM MEASUREMENT USING SA200-12B
Generally, an additional fixed laser wavelength reference is needed if the absolute ECDL output wavelength is
calibrated and measured using a scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer such as SA200-12B [8]. Without the fixed laser
wavelength reference, just the ECDL output line-width and modulation sidebands can be measured using SA200-
12B. However, Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of an ECDL optical spectrum (including wavelength)
measurement using SA200-12B only. This scanning FPI is driven by a saw-tooth voltage waveform, and therefore its
mirror displacement is linearly scanned. As a result, the peak transmission frequency of the SA200-12B transfer
function is also linearly scanned. A photodiode is used at the SA200-12B output to convert the optical signal into
electrical waveform, which is then displayed on an oscilloscope. To synchronize with the mirror scanning, the
oscilloscope is triggered by the saw-tooth waveform [5].
In this spectrum measurement system, the spectral resolution is determined by the width of the SA200-12B
transmission peak and the frequency coverage is limited by its FSR. Because of the periodic nature of the SA200-
12B transfer function, the spectral content of the ECDL optical signal to be measured has to be limited within one
SA200-12B FSR. All the spectral components outside one SA200-12B FSR will be folded together, thus introducing
measurement errors. In Figure 6, the optical spectrum of the ECDL in infrared band has an FSR of 666.7 MHz less
than half the SA200-12B FSR, and two ECDL FSRs are thus contained in one SA200-12B FSR; however, due to the
special design of the ECDL, its output optical spectral content will be limited within its two FSRs [7]. Therefore, all
the ECDL output optical spectral contents will be inside one SA200-12B FSR, which prevents the spectral folding as
well as the introduction of measurement errors. The optical path difference of two adjacent transmitted light in
SA200-12B is four times its cavity length due to the confocal-mirror design of SA200-12B, as is shown in Figure 4;
hence for an ECDL output wavelength , the SA200-12B output optical signal will change from an interference
maxima to its adjacent interference maxima when the SA200-12B cavity length is scanned by /4 from a position
where the constructive interference for occurs.
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FIG. 7 A VIRTUAL SCANNING WAVEFORM OF THE ECDL OUTPUT OPTICAL SPECTRAL CONTENTS WITHIN
TWO SA200-12B FSRS. THE SLOPING STRAIGHT LINE ON TOP REPRESENTS PZT VOLTAGE VERSUS TIME
CURVE; THE CURVES ON BOTTOM REPRESENT THE ECDL OUTPUT LONGITUDINAL MODES; M AND M+1
ARE THE INTERFERENCE ORDER NUMBER OF THE ECDL OUTPUT LONGITUDINAL MODES
Figure 7 gives a virtual scanning waveform of the ECDL output optical spectral contents within two SA200-12B
FSRs. It can be seen from it that the actual ECDL output optical spectral content only contains three longitudinal
modes, of which the wavelengths are
1
,
2
, and
3
, respectively. The ECDL output optical spectral content in the
second SA200-12B FSR with the interference order number of m+1 are as the same as that in the first SA200-12B
FSR with the interference order number of m. According to the discussion above, following relationships are found
between the variables
1
,
2
, and
3
, so as to obtain their values.
/ 4
1 1 1
/ 4
2 2 2
,
V
V


A
= =
A
(9)
/ 4
2 2 2
/ 4
3 3 3
,
V
V


A
= =
A
(10)
1.5
1
7
1 2
,
c c
T

= - A (11)
Among the three equations above, V
1
, V
2
, V
3
, and T
1
can be read from the oscilloscope, whose units are mV and
ms respectively; c is the propagation velocity of light in vacuum and its unit is m/s;
1
,
2
, and
3
are the unknown
wavelength variables, whose units are nm; 1.5 represents the free spectral range of SA200-12B, and its unit is GHz;
7 represents the free spectral range of SA200-12B in time domain, and its unit is ms. Then, the values of
1
,
2
, and

3
can be acquired as follows:
7 ( )
2 1
,
1
1.5
2 1
c V V
V T

A A
=
- A - A
(12)
7 ( )
2 1
,
2
1.5* *
1 1
c V V
V T

A A
=
A A
(13)
7 ( )
3 2 1
.
3
1.5* * *
1 2 1
c V V V
V V T

A A A
=
A A A
(14)
4 CONCLUSIONS
From the three formulae above, not only the value of
1
,
2
, and
3
can be obtained, but also the measurement
accuracy of
1
,
2
, and
3
determined by the measurement and reading accuracy of V
1
, V
2
, V
3
, and T
1
is known.
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With a high performance digital storage oscilloscope, the measurement and reading accuracy of V
1
, V
2
, V
3
, and
T
1
can be guaranteed to a high level; therefore, so does the measurement accuracy of
1
,
2
, and
3
. With this
measurement method, the ECDL output longitudinal mode wavelength, line-width, and modulation sidebands can be
measured just using SA200-12B.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work is supported by 2008 Shenzhen Basic Research Project Fund (grant SY200806300217A), 2009 Shenzhen
Technology Research and Development Fund / STRDF (grant O702011001), 2010 GuangdongChinese Academy
of Sciences Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Project (grant 2010A090100014), and 2011 TIPC, Key
Laboratory of Functional Crystals and Laser Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant JTJG201109).
REFERENCES
[1] Hernandez G, Fabry-Perot Interferometers, Cambridge University Press, 1986.
[2] Hui Rongqing and Maurice O Sullivan, Fiber Optic Measurement Techniques: Chapter 2-Basic Instrumentation for Optical
Measurement, Elsevier Academic Press, USA, 2009
[3] Mulligan J. F., Who were Fabry and Perot? Am. J. Phys. Vol. 66(9), pp. 797-802, 1998.
[4] HORLABS INC, SA200-Series Scanning Fabry Perot Interferometer, http://www.thorlabs.com/Thorcat/19500/ 19501-D02. pdf.
[5] THORLABS INC, SA201 SPECTRUM ANALYZER CONTROLLER OPERATING MANUAL, HTTP://WWW.THORLABS.COM/
THORCAT/6600/6679-D02.PDF.
[6] VAUGHAN J M, The Fabry-Perot Interferometer: History, Practice and ApplicationS, Adam Hilger. Bristol England, 1989.
[7] Xiao Xiao and Yu Fengqi, Investigation of a Linearly Tunable External Cavity Diode Laser in a Configuration with Single
Cavity All-Dielectric Thin-Film Fabry-Perot Filter, SPIE Optical Engineering. 50, 034201, 2011.
[8] Yu Zhenxin and Li Qingxing, Design Considerations of a Scanning Fabry-Perot Interferometer and Its Application to the
Analysis of Laser Modes, Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Sunyatseni, 1 (1981).
AUTHORS
Xiao Xiao earned his BS and MS degrees
in science and technology of optical
information at Huazhong University of
Science and Technology. He is currently a
doctoral student in the department of
integrated electronics at Shenzhen
Institutes of Advanced Technology,
Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Lu Yuanfu earned his PhD degree in
optics at photophysical Key Laboratory,
the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy
of Sciences. In 2009, he joined Shenzhen
Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT)
as an assistant researcher. During doctoral
period, he mainly engaged in the research
of solid-state lasers and nonlinear frequency conversion;
meanwhile, he had participated in the national "863 Program", a
number of research projects of the Natural Science Foundation
of China and major national research equipment independent
innovation projects. In addition, he has published more than 20
papers in important domestic and international academic journals
indexed by SCI, and has applied for a patent. He currently
mainly engages in the research of Terahertz biomedical imaging,
non-linear optical microscope.
Chen Jianhua is a research assistant at
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced
Technology, Chinese Academy of
Science. He received his Master's degree
in Electronic Engineering from Tsinghua
University on the topic of ultra-high
speed optical fiber transmission and
signal processing. His current research focuses on developing
data acquisition and imaging schemes for AR/OR-Photo-acoustic
medical devices.
Gong Xiaojing is an assistant professor at
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced
Technology, Chinese Academy of Science.
He received his PhD degree in Fine
Instruments and Mechanics from the
University of Science and Technology of
China in 2007. He joined the IBHE of
SIAT in 2007. He focused in the research of Bio-photonics,
including Optical Coherence Tomography/ Microscopy, Photo-
acoustic Tomography/Microscopy, Terahertz biomedical
42
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imaging, etc. He has authored and co-authored more than 10
journal and conference articles, with 3 Chinese patents and one
U. S. patent pending.
Feng Guangzhi earned his master degree
in Condensed Matter Physics at
Changchun Institute of Optics and Fine
Mechanics and Physics. In 2008, he
joined Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced
Technology (SIAT) as an engineer.
During master period, he mainly engaged
in the research of high power semiconductor laser beam shaping
and coupling, and he has published one paper and applied for
two patents. After graduation, he served as an optical engineer in
the famous Han's Laser Technology Co., Ltd. He participated the
development of laser processing equipment in the UV, IR band
as a project backbone, and applied for one patent. In 2009, he
joined Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) bio-
photonics center, and his current main research target is terahertz
fast imaging system.
Yu Wenlong earned his master degree in
software engineering at Harbin Institute of
Technology. In 2008, he joined Shenzhen
Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT)
as a research assistant. During master
period, he participated in the National
Natural Science Foundation project: 3D
point cloud data feature segmentation-
based algorithm.
Yu Fengqi earned his PhD degree in
Integrated Circuits and Systems Lab
(ICSL) at UCLA. In 2006, he joined
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced
Technology (SIAT) as a full professor and director of the
integrated electronics department. Before joining SIAT, he
worked at Rockwell Science Center (USA), Intel (USA),
Teradyne (USA), Valence Semiconductor (USA), and Suzhou
CAS IC Design Center (China). His R&D interests include
CMOS RF integrated circuit design, CMOS sensor design,
wireless sensor networks, RFID, and wireless communications.
Jin Lei earned his PhD degree at Tsinghua
University in 1997. After graduation, he
served as an associate professor at
Tsinghua University. He had many visits
to the United Kingdom, Belgium, Hong
Kong, responsible for or involved in
setting up a number of large advanced
instrument platform, such as a large sputtered atoms the laser
single atom detection spectrometer; China's first multi-photon
excitation biological imaging platform; nonlinear Biomedical
Photonics of the Chinese University of Hong Kong microscope;
Shenzhen advanced school of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
THz imaging systems, etc. He is one of the first batches of
researchers in the field of bio-photonics research; responsible for
or participated in a number of national research projects,
including 973 projects, 863 projects and research programs. The
establishment of Shenzhen Chinese Sleep and Health Study Key
Laboratory of THz Medical Imaging Laboratory, classic life
sciences joint laboratories and so on. Major research direction is
the use of advanced scientific imaging instrument exploration of
TCM scientific explanation, based on the basis of TCM clinical
research, and he tries to develop medical devices with Chinese
characteristics, the final application to the universal health care
system. He is now a Professor of the Biomedical Engineering
TCM scientific and applied technology Research Office.