The MICRO Spectra ultra-high resolution miniature spectrometer for laser characterization from Resolution Spectra Systems now offers a 10 measurements per second capability in order to optimize the visualization of wavelength and modes stability and to follow manual operating point search of lasers such as ECDL, VCSEL, DFB, YAG. Based on innovative SWIFTS technology, the small and easy-to-use device provides a resolution of ~0.01 nm in the 630- to 1083-nm range with a long-life factory calibration.
The MICRO Spectra is based on SWIFTSTM technology, which represents a new approach to spectroscopy. It uses cutting-edge technologies such as imaging sensors, integrated optics and nanotechnologies in conjunction with specific algorithms, all integrated in a single component with no moving parts.
SWIFTSTM Technology is an internationally patented technology invented by scientists at the Joseph Fourier University and the Institut National Polytechnique, both in Grenoble, France. It is based on the Nobel Prize-winning discovery made by Gabriel Lippmann at the beginning of the 19th century, which allowed the first color photographs to be produced. SWIFTS stands for Stationary Wave Interferometer Fourier Transform Spectrometer.
The light reflected by a mirror produces standing waves. This phenomenon has been widely known for many years now. In 1892, Gabriel Lippmann (winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1902) developed the principle and used it to create a famous color photography process. Up until a few years ago, this process remained confined to photography, having yet to be incorporated into the world of photonics. In 2004, two French researchers believed it would be possible to bring Lippmann's ideas up to date by coupling sensing elements to the evanescent range of standing waves within a single-mode waveguide. This “detector” was indeed capable of statically detecting the Fourier transform of a wave’s spectrum over a wide range of wavelengths and with no moving parts, all within a minimal space. The SWIFTS principle was born.