Optical-Fiber-Type Broadband Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy Using Wavelength-Tunable Ultrashort Pulsed Light

We proposed an optical-fiber-type broadband cavity ring-down spectroscopy system using wavelength-tunable ultrashort pulsed light. The absorbance of glucose in various concentrations in water was derived from the ring-down plots of intensities of the interference waveforms generated using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with different optical delay path lengths, which were shifted by an automatic optical switching module. The absorption spectrum of glucose was obtained in the wavelength region from 1620 to 1690nm by varying the wavelength using wavelength-tunable ultrashort pulsed light, which was generated from a femtosecond pulsed laser and polarization-maintaining fiber. The measurement error of concentration was improved using multiple linear regression analysis of absorption spectra. The results demonstrate that the optical-fiber-type cavity ring-down spectroscopy system has the potential to measure broadband absorption spectra with high sensitivity. (C) 2013 The Japan Society of Applied Physics