Optical spectrum analyser for fast and accurate MWIR measurements

Yokogawa Test & Measurement Corporation has released the AQ6377E optical spectrum analyser for MWIR measurements. While inheriting the world-class optical performance of the preceding AQ6377 model, the new device delivers several new features and functions that improve speed, accuracy, and capability, enabling it to meet a wider spread of laser application demands, including environmental measurement.

In recent years, there has been increasing demand from researchers and developers of MWIR lasers for an optical spectrum analyser that can quickly and precisely analyse the wavelength spectrum of lasers, including their side modes, especially in the 5μm band. This led to the launch in 2020 of the current model.

“We listen intently to the requests of our customers,” says Terry Marrinan, VP of sales and marketing at Yokogawa Test & Measurement. “Understanding their challenges helps us develop solutions that overcome complex measurements tasks, while simultaneously driving efficiency and ease-of-use to save both time and money. Our new AQ6377E is no exception. We received requests for faster measurement speeds, the ability to perform pulsed light measurements under various conditions, and a better way to evaluate side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) than is available using Fourier Transform optical spectrum analyser (FT-OSA) instruments. The AQ6377E provides the solution to these issues.”

As the successor model to the AQ6377, the new optical spectrum analyser presents users with a number of new functions and specifications.

For instance, the device offers improved performance of the built-in chopper, which operates automatically according to the measurement sensitivity setting. Specifically, the company has added the NORMAL/CHOP and MID/CHOP measurement sensitivity settings, which apply the lock-in detection function to the intermediate NORMAL and MID sensitivities of the previous model. This capability decreases the impact of background noise when measuring MWIR light spectra and allows faster and more accurate measurement compared with the previous model.

The new model also offers much wider pulsed light measurement capabilities thanks to adding a new function, ‘advanced pulsed light measurement mode’. This enhancement provides engineers with an improved ability to measure pulsed light with low-repetition frequencies previously impossible to achieve using the AQ6377.

In laser evaluation, simultaneous measurement over a wide level range was a clear performance advantage of the previous model. The new AQ6377E adds to this with a dynamic measurement range for the simultaneous measurement of a laser’s optical spectrum. This improvement ensures engineers can accurately evaluate the SMSR, an index of laser performance, which is difficult to achieve with an FT-OSA.

Typical applications include laser technology research, non-linear optical research, such as optical parametric oscillator (OPO) activities, and applied research into the sensing of environmental gases like CO2, N2O, and NO.