Abstract.
We present a novel spectroscopic method based on a phase-modulated interferometer which is suitable for the high-precision measurement of absorption and index of refraction profiles. A comparison with competing methods, that is with interferometry and FM spectroscopy, is given. The combination of these two methods, the phase-modulated interferometer, is shown to be best suited for experiments aiming at the realization of novel optical media, for example media exhibiting an ultra-large index of refraction or strong dispersion without absorption. The theory of operation and a theoretical and experimental signal-to-noise analysis are presented. Current detection limits for optical phase shift and relative absorption are 1.1×10-5 rad/ and 2×10-5 /, respectively. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this novel technique by investigating the absorption and index of refraction profiles of the 4s2 1S0→4s4p 1P1 resonance transition at 423 nm in calcium.
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Received: 4 October 1999 / Revised version: 11 January 2000 / Published online: 19 April 2000
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Wicht, A., Müller, M., Quetschke, V. et al. A phase-modulated interferometer for high-precision spectroscopy . Appl Phys B 70, 821–831 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00021141
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00021141