Improvement Case Study
Improving Spectral Measurements of Difficult-to-Detect Pulsed Lasers
Customer’s Issue
The customer wanted to measure each pulse from a pulsed laser. However, they could not do that with the monochromator-type and interference-type optical spectrum analyzers they owned.
Advantages of Shimadzu Products
★Advantage 1: Real-Time Measurement with the Array Sensor Ensures No Transient Spectra are Missed
The SPG-V500 optical spectrum analyzer features a polychromator design that simultaneously acquires approximately 4000 spectral data points (wavelength and intensity). This enables the capture of phenomena that monochromator-type or interference-type optical spectrum analyzers cannot measure. With a measurement time (integration time) as short as 6 μs, spectra can be acquired from each pulse.
Since it can capture instantaneous changes in spectra, it can be used for a wide variety of applications, ranging from R&D to the evaluation of Q-switch and other pulsed lasers.
- *Whether a laser can be measured depends on the laser's repetition rate, output, and other conditions.
★Advantage 2: Multimode Fiber × High Resolution Reduces Optical Adjustment Time
The SPG-V500 optical spectrum analyzer achieves a wavelength resolution of about 0.02 nm (Typ.) with either a large-core multimode fiber or free-space input. This allows for high-resolution measurements without the need for precise optical alignment. Consequently, it can acquire high-resolution measurements faster and more easily than instruments that require single-mode fiber input.
Benefits of Using Shimadzu Products and Customer Feedback
Using the SPG-V500’s high-resolution, real-time measurement capability, we were able to detect pulsed light that was previously impossible to measure.
The measurement process itself was much easier, too. Previously, it took an enormous amount of time to make fine adjustments and repeated measurements, but now since we can use a multimode fiber such steps are not needed. We assumed using a multimode fiber input would reduce resolution, but the SPG-V500 can measure samples while maintaining high resolution.
The shorter measurement times have sped up our overall experiments.
