High resolution spectral metrology leveraging topologically enhanced optical activity in fibers.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33067451.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-18931-6 and PMC identifier 7568529.
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Abstract
Optical rotation, a form of optical activity, is a phenomenon employed in various metrological applications and industries including chemical, food, and pharmaceutical. In naturally-occurring, as well as structured media, the integrated effect is, however, typically small. Here, we demonstrate that, by exploiting the inherent and stable spin-orbit interaction of orbital angular momentum fiber modes, giant, scalable optical activity can be obtained, and that we can use this effect to realize a new type of wavemeter by exploiting its optical rotary dispersion. The device we construct provides for an instantaneous wavelength-measurement technique with high resolving power R = 3.4 × 10<sup>6</sup> (i.e., resolution < 0.3 pm at 1-μm wavelengths) and can also detect spectral bandwidths of known lineshapes with high sensitivity.