Confused about noise power spectral density measurement

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Malamala
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the measurement of noise power spectral density (PSD) in laser systems, specifically using self-heterodyne techniques. The experimental setup involves a time delay of 100 ns between two arms, leading to confusion regarding the interpretation of the spectrum limits in the provided figures. It is established that the 10 MHz frequency is an upper limit for noise detection, contrary to the initial assumption of it being a lower limit. The conversation highlights the relationship between measurement duration and the ability to capture slower noise variations, emphasizing the use of longer fiber lengths in experiments to achieve lower frequency measurements.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of noise power spectral density (PSD) measurement techniques
  • Familiarity with self-heterodyne measurement methods
  • Knowledge of laser frequency noise characteristics
  • Basic principles of interferometry and phase signal extraction
NEXT STEPS
  • Research advanced self-heterodyne measurement techniques for laser noise analysis
  • Study the impact of integration time on noise PSD measurements
  • Explore the relationship between fiber length and frequency resolution in laser experiments
  • Learn about the theoretical foundations of linewidth measurements in laser systems
USEFUL FOR

Researchers, optical engineers, and physicists involved in laser technology and noise measurement, particularly those focused on improving the accuracy of linewidth and PSD measurements in laser systems.

Malamala
Messages
348
Reaction score
28
Hello! My question was started from this paper. The topic of the paper is related to linewidth measurements, but my question is even before that, related to the way the noise power spectral density (PSD) spectrum shown in Fig. 1 is obtained. In Fig. 2 they show their experimental setup, which is based on a self-heterodyne measurement. The time delay between the 2 arms is 100 ns. I am confused about the lower limit of the spectrum in Fig. 1. Naively, I would expect to not be able to see any noise faster than 1/(100 ns) = 10 MHz i.e. the 2 arms would appear coherent for noise slower than that. Yet, in Fig. 1 it appears like the 10 MHz is actually an upper, not a lower limit for the noise. On the right column of Fig. 2 they also claim "Therefore, the interferometric phase signal allows to extract the full PSD of laser frequency noise down to frequencies limited by the overall integration time of the interferometric phase signal". I don't understand why measuring for longer would give me information about slower noise variation. And if that is the case, why do experiments measuring noise PSD or linewidths in laser actually use 10's or even 100 km long fiber differences, if you can reach down to 1 Hz just by doing the self-heterodyne for 1 second?
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
2K
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • · Replies 29 ·
Replies
29
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
6K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K