Optical spectrum analyser for fast and accurate mid-wave infrared measurements

Yokogawa Test & Measurement Corporation has announced the release of the AQ6377E optical spectrum analyser for mid-wave infrared (MWIR) measurements. While inheriting the world-class optical performance of the preceding AQ6377 model, the AQ6377E offers a number of new features and functions that enhance speed, accuracy, and capability, enabling it to meet a broader spread of laser application demands, including environmental measurement.

In recent years, there has been increasing demand from researchers and developers of MWIR lasers for an optical spectrum analyser that can quickly and precisely analyse the wavelength spectrum of lasers, including their side modes, especially in the 5μm band. This led to the launch in 2020 of the current AQ6377 model.

“We listen intently to the requests of our customers,” said Terry Marrinan, VP Sales & Marketing at Yokogawa Test & Measurement. “Understanding their challenges helps us develop solutions that overcome complex measurements tasks, while simultaneously driving efficiency and ease-of-use to save both time and money. Our new AQ6377E is no exception. We received requests for faster measurement speeds, the ability to perform pulsed light measurements under various conditions, and a better way to evaluate side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) than is available using Fourier Transform optical spectrum analyser (FT-OSA) instruments. The AQ6377E provides the solution to these issues.”

As the successor model to the AQ6377, the AQ6377E optical spectrum analyser presents users with a number of new functions and specifications.

For instance, the AQ6377E offers improved performance of the built-in chopper, which operates automatically according to the measurement sensitivity setting. Specifically, Yokogawa has added the NORMAL/CHOP and MID/CHOP measurement sensitivity settings, which apply the lock-in detection function to the intermediate NORMAL and MID sensitivities of the previous model. This capability reduces the impact of background noise when measuring MWIR light spectra and allows faster and more accurate measurement compared with the previous AQ6377.

The AQ6377E also offers much wider pulsed light measurement capabilities thanks to the addition of a new function, ‘advanced pulsed light measurement mode’. This enhancement provides engineers with improved ability to measure pulsed light with low-repetition frequencies that were previously impossible to achieve using the AQ6377.

In laser evaluation, simultaneous measurement over a wide level range was a clear performance advantage of the previous AQ6377. The new AQ6377E adds to this with a dynamic measurement range for the simultaneous measurement of a laser’s optical spectrum. This improvement ensures engineers can accurately evaluate the SMSR, an index of laser performance, which is difficult to achieve with an FT-OSA.