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Communications Technology Laboratory /Spectrum Technology and Research Division

Fiber Sources and Applications Group

The primary thrusts for the group are the development and application of fiber-laser frequency combs to optical clocks, frequency transfer, ranging, and precision spectroscopy. Specific recent work includes development of a robust, fieldable frequency comb, synchronization of distant clocks to femtosecond timing, and the application of “dual-comb spectroscopy” to atmospheric gas detection across open paths.

Free space time transfer at the femtosecond level
Free space time transfer at the femtosecond level
Methane leak monitoring and tech transfer illustration
Methane leak monitoring and tech transfer
Greenhouse Gas and Atmospheric Trace Gas Measurements
Atmospheric Trace Gas Measurements
NIST researchers
Investigating colors in the wind — NIST researchers expand beyond a current spectroscopy technique for measuring greenhouse gases to now detect volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere. Posted on Facebook on Saturday, January 23, 2021.

Optical frequency combs are a unique laser source that combine wide spectral coverage with high coherence, enabling high-precision optical measurements. This project aims to advance the technology for a growing array of applications, particularly those extending beyond traditional optical metrology laboratories. By leveraging components developed for optical telecommunications, robust frequency comb designs have been created for high-performance operation in field environments. Demonstrations have shown that pairs of combs can be employed for chemical analysis, while open-path atmospheric sensing techniques have been developed to provide precise and accurate measurements of greenhouse and trace gases. New methods for precision optical time transfer have also been introduced, transmitting signals from next-generation optical atomic clocks over long distances to support emerging optical clock networks. Additionally, frequency-comb-based light detection and ranging (LIDAR) has been applied to achieve absolute distance measurements and surface profiling with exceptional precision. Ongoing research continues to identify and explore opportunities where the superior accuracy and precision of frequency combs offer new capabilities in both metrology and sensing.

Optical Frequency Combs

Press Coverage

cow illustration

Combing a Herd for Methane Emissions

American Physical Society
Specialized light beams called frequency combs could help detect greenhouse-gas emissions from livestock with greater precision than existing methods.

News and Updates

PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS

Partial timeline showing the evolution of open-path dual-comb spectroscopy at NIST

Greenhouse Gas and Atmospheric Trace Gas Measurements

Ongoing
Dealing with climate change will require continued reductions in emissions, which in turn will require higher accuracies and precisions for monitoring, reporting and verification. Better monitoring will accelerate local emission reductions as well as being critical to verifying international
OTWTFT

Optical Two-way Time-frequency Transfer

Ongoing
Researchers in the Fiber Sources and Applications Group have been developing the technique of “Optical Two-Way Time-Frequency Transfer” (OTWTFT) which can link time between distant clocks to the femtosecond level over free-space links. Optical clock networks could enable tests of fundamental physics
dual-comb spectroscopy illustration

Frequency-comb-based Spectroscopy (Dual-Comb Spectroscopy)

Ongoing
Fully stabilized frequency combs provide a broadband spectral output that is comprised of a series of narrow spectral lines or “teeth”. “Dual comb spectroscopy” provides one method to harness these properties for broadband spectroscopy. It allows the user to read-out the spectrum of a gas mixture on
fiber frequency comb design

Fiber-optic Frequency Comb Development

Ongoing
Frequency combs have found a wide range of applications beyond just optical metrology. Applications include laser ranging, precision molecular spectroscopy in the lab and over the air, optical timing distribution, low-noise microwave generation and support for optical clocks. All these applications

Fiber Sources and Applications Background Information

Ongoing
NIST has been a world leader in lasers since the technology's development in the early 1960s, a tradition continued when NIST scientist John L. Hall shared the 2005 Nobel Prize in physics for his part in the invention of the optical frequency comb. The output of a comb is a brief broadband pulse
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Publications

The Black Hole Explorer: Astophysics Mission Concept Engineering Study Report

Author(s)
Eliad Peretz, Peter Kurczynski, Michael D. Johnson, Janice Houston, Tirupati Kumara Sridharan, Jade Wang, Peter Galison, Ronald Gamble, Daniel P. Marrone, Scott Noble, Gary Melnick, Leonid Petrov, Hannah Rana, Kari Haworth, Sheperd S. Doeleman, Sara Issaoun, Shahar Hadar, Alexandru Lupsasca, Edward Tong, Kazunori Akiyama, Ranjani Srinivasan, Don Boroson, Guangning Yang, Tiffany Hoerbelt, Jeffrey Small, Mareki Honma, Bryan Bilyeu, Ed Canavan, Katia Shtyrkova, Robert Lafon, Lenny Paritsky, Laura Sinclair, Mark Silver, Leonid Gurvits, Yuri Kovalev, Robert Lehmensiek, Hua Jiao, Lindy Blackburn, Alexandra Brosius, Rick Butler, Andrew Chael, Dominic Chang, Koushik Chatterjee, Peter Cheimets, Daniel D'Orazio, Thomas Essinger-Hileman, Vincent Fish, Garret Fitzpatrick, Charles Gammie, Zachary Gelles, Michael H. Hecht, Jens Kauffmann, Jared Lucey, Chung-Pei Ma, Mark Matsumura, Daniel Palumbo, Dominic Pesce, Jeff Piepmeier, Christopher J. Roberts, Freek Roelofs, Paul Tiede, Jaye Verniero, Maciek Wielgus, Ed Wollack, George N. Wong, Kelsey Gilchrist, Kayla Carmical, Andrew Lewis, Maya Wertheim, Keshet Shavit
The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) mission will enable the study of the fine photon ring structure, aiming to reveal the clear universal signatures of multiple

The Black Hole Explorer: Instrument System Overview

Author(s)
Daniel P. Marrone, Janice Houston, Kazunori Akiyama, Bryan Bilyeu, Don Boroson, Paul Grimes, Kari Haworth, Robert Lehmensiek, Eliad Peretz, Hannah Rana, Laura Sinclair, Sridharan Tirupati Kumara, Ranjani Srinivasan, Edward Tong, Jade Wang, Jonathan Weintroub, Michael D. Johnson
The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) is a space very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) mission concept that is currently under development. BHEX will study

The Black Hole Explorer: Motivation and Vision

Author(s)
Michael D. Johnson, Kazunori Akiyama, Rebecca Baturin, Bryan Bilyeu, Lindy Blackburn, Don Boroson, Alejandro Cardena-Avendano, Andrew Chael, Chi-kwan Chan, Dominic Chang, Peter Cheimets, Cathy Chou, Sheperd S. Doeleman, Joseph Farah, Peter Galison, Ronald Gamble, Charles F. Gammie, Zachary Gelles, Jose L. Gomez, Samuel E. Gralla, Paul Grimes, Shahar Hadar, Kari Haworth, Kazuhiro Hada, Michael H. Hecht, Mareki Honma, Janice Houston, Ben Hudson, Sara Issaoun, He Jia, Svetlana Jorstad, Jens Kauffmann, Yuri Kovalev, Leonid I. Gurvits, Peter Kurczynski, Robert Lafon, Alexandru Lupsasca, Robert Lehmensiek, Chung-Pei Ma, Daniel P. Marrone, Alan P. Marscher, Gary J. Melnick, Ramesh Narayan, Kotaro Niinuma, Scott C. Noble, Eric J. Palmer, Daniel C. Palumbo, Lenny Paritsky, Eliad Peretz, Dominic Pesce, Alexander Plavin, Eliot Quataert, Hannah Rana, Angelo Ricarte, Freek Roelofs, Katia Shtyrkova, Laura Sinclair, Jeffrey Small, Sridharan Tirupati Kumara, Ranjani Srinivasan, Andrew Strominger, Paul Tiede, Edward Tong, Jade Wang, Jonathan Weintroub, Maciek Wielgus, George Wong, Xinyue Alice Zhang
We present the Black Hole Explorer (BHEX), a mission that will produce the sharpest images in the history of astronomy by extending submillimeter Very-Long

Software

Awards

Contacts

Group Leader (1st) and Project Leaders

Staff