We describe a method for efficiently determining the wavelength of a monochromatic source and provide an experimental proof-of-concept. The photomeasurement efficiency for a wavemeter can be written as eta(N,q) = (1 + logqN)/m, where N is the number of spectral channels, q is the number of distinguishable output levels per photodetector, and m is the actual number of photomeasurements made. An ...

Femtosecond lasers with a repetition rate of approximately I GHz are commonly used frequency comb generators for precise optical frequency metrology. They are conveniently compact, yield unambiguous frequency readings with the help of a commercial wavemeter, and can yield greater heterodyne beat signals against a cw laser than systems with lower repetition rates. This chapter reviews the techno...

Self-referenced optical frequency combs enable the measurement of optical frequencies with a very high accuracy, achieving uncertainties close to the atomic clock used as reference (<10(-13) s). In this paper, we present the technique for the measurement of laser frequencies for optical communications followed at IO-CSIC and its application to the calibration of two wavemeters in the 1.5 μm opt...

Using an external-cavity diode laser (ECDL) as the light source, we have observed the spectrum of CO(2) in the 1.5-µm atmospheric window including the (30(0)1)(I) <-- (00(0)0) and (31(1)1)(I) <-- (01(1)0)(I) bands. Good signal-to-noise ratio allowed us to lock the frequency of our ECDL to the absorption line centers. Wavenumber measurements of the transitions with accuracy about 6.6 x 10(-4) cm...