Yokogawa announces that it has developed the AQ6374 optical spectrum analyzer that features a wide dynamic range and high wavelength resolution and is capable of measuring the optical spectrum of laser light in the 350 to 1750 nm wavelength range.
Optical spectrum analyzers are used to resolve the wavelength components of optical devices such as semiconductor lasers and fiber lasers in order to assess their characteristics. The AQ6374 optical spectrum analyzer is capable of covering both the visible light wavelengths and the wavelengths used in optical communications.
Conventional optical spectrum analyzers can measure a limited range of optical wavelengths. Commercially-available analyzers are divided into two types: those that can measure the wavelengths used for optical communications (1260 to 1675 nm), and those that can measure the visible light wavelengths (380 to 780 nm) used in medical care, home appliance, material processing, and other applications.
Consequently, institutes that conduct basic optical technology research, manufacturers of broadband light sources, and manufacturers of optical devices used in a variety of fields have had to use more than one optical spectrum analyzer or construct their own measurement system from a spectroscope and other components.
To satisfy such needs, Yokogawa has developed the AQ6374 offerint a 350 to 1750 nm wavelength range. The AQ6374 is capable of evaluating and analyzing both the visible light wavelengths and the wavelengths used in optical communications. With a maximum resolution of 2 pm and the ability to sample power levels at up to 100,000 wavelength points, the AQ6374 can evaluate and analyze a wide range of wavelengths with a single scan.
The AQ6374 also features a wide close-in dynamic range of 60 dB, which is sufficient for measuring the side mode characteristics of a semiconductor laser. This instrument can thus be used to develop distributed semiconductor devices such as feedback laser diodes (DFB-LD) that emit only one wavelength as well as optical fibers that necessitate measurements over a wide range of wavelengths.
The AQ6374 comes with two additional enhancements. The first is a function that purges the water vapor trapped in its monochromator that can suppress the absorption of light at certain wavelengths. The second is a function that reduces the effect of high-order diffracted light whose wavelengths are 2–3 times that of incident light, a characteristic that all monochromators have due to their design principle.
