A Practical 1.5μm Wavelength Transfer Standard Based on Acetylene Absorption Lines

摘要

In Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) fiber communication system, more and more channels have to be put into a single fiber in order to fulfil the ever-increasing demand for high capacity. This put strict requirements on the wavelength characteristics of various active and passive optical components. Generally speaking, in current DWDM system, a wavelength accuracy of 5 pm is necessary for analyzing channel performance, and 0.5 pm is required for the aging test of components. An extended cavity laser diode (ECLD) frequency stabilized to saturated absorption lines of acetylene C_2H_2 with a potential long term frequency stability of 10~(-12) can provide excellent wavelength reference for DWDM communication system. In this paper, we describe a practical 1.5μm wavelength transfer standard based on C_2H_2 stabilized DFB laser and tunable fiber Fabry-Perot etalon. This transfer standard is suitable for the calibration of widely used optical spectrum analyzers (OSA) and wavelength/multi-wavelengths meters. This device is currently under development in the Quantum Division of National Institute of Metrology (NIM).