Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Accuracy limits for simple molecular absorption based wavelength references

Published

Author(s)

William C. Swann, Sarah L. Gilbert

Abstract

We present limitations on the characterization and use of molecular absorption lines for wavelength calibration purposes. These limits assume a Doppler and pressure-broadened absorption spectrum obtained by transmitting light through a simple gas cell. Attempting to define the line centers to ever-higher accuracy reveals limits associated with effects of cell pressure uncertainty, weak features in the spectrum, increasing complexity in the line profile model, and accuracy limits of wavelength meters.
Proceedings Title
Tech. Dig., Symp. on Optical Fiber Meas.
Conference Dates
September 28-30, 2004
Conference Location
Boulder, CO, USA

Keywords

molecular absorption, optical communication, optical sensors, wavelength accuracy, wavelength calibration, wavelength references

Citation

Swann, W. and Gilbert, S. (2004), Accuracy limits for simple molecular absorption based wavelength references, Tech. Dig., Symp. on Optical Fiber Meas., Boulder, CO, USA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=31711 (Accessed May 3, 2024)
Created August 31, 2004, Updated October 12, 2021