Accurate frequency referencing for fieldable dual-comb spectroscopy

TL;DR

This paper presents a portable dual-comb spectrometer with a novel frequency referencing scheme that achieves high accuracy and resolution in field conditions, enabling precise molecular spectroscopy comparable to laboratory systems.

Contribution

The work introduces a fieldable dual-comb spectrometer using a bootstrapped frequency referencing scheme combining diode lasers and a quartz oscillator, achieving lab-quality spectral accuracy in the field.

Findings

Achieved full comb-tooth resolution spectra from 140 THz to 184 THz.

Spectral measurements matched laboratory systems within 5.6×10^-4 accuracy.

Demonstrated CO2 quantification sensitivity of 2.8 ppm-km at 1 s.

Abstract

A fieldable dual-comb spectrometer is described based on a "bootstrapped" frequency referencing scheme in which short-term optical phase coherence between combs is attained by referencing each to a free-running diode laser, whilst high frequency resolution and long-term accuracy is derived from a stable quartz oscillator. This fieldable dual-comb spectrometer was used to measure spectra with full comb-tooth resolution spanning from 140 THz (2.14 um, 4670 cm^-1) to 184 THz (1.63 um, 6140 cm^-1) in the near infrared with a frequency sampling of 200 MHz (0.0067 cm^-1), ~ 120 kHz frequency resolution, and ~ 1 MHz frequency accuracy. High resolution spectra of water and carbon dioxide transitions at 1.77 um, 1.96 um and 2.06 um show that the molecular transmission acquired with this fieldable system did not deviate from those measured with a laboratory-based system (referenced to a maser and cavity-stabilized laser) to within 5.6x10^-4. Additionally, the fieldable system optimized for carbon dioxide quantification at 1.60 um, demonstrated a sensitivity of 2.8 ppm-km at 1 s integration time, improving to 0.10 ppm-km at 13 minutes of integration time.