# Compact and high-precision wavemeters using the Talbot effect and signal processing

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact, high-precision wavemeter based on the Talbot effect, utilizing advanced signal processing to achieve sub-10 pm accuracy at 780 nm, with theoretical and experimental validation.

## Contribution

The work presents a novel Talbot-effect-based wavemeter with enhanced precision and compactness, validated through theoretical analysis and experimental results.

## Key findings

- Achieved below 10 pm single-shot uncertainty at 780 nm
- Demonstrated the effectiveness of signal processing algorithms in wavelength estimation
- Validated performance against the Cramér-Rao lower bound

## Abstract

Precise knowledge of a laser's wavelength is crucial for applications from spectroscopy to telecommunications. Here we present a wavemeter which operates on the Talbot effect. Tone parameter extraction algorithms are used to retrieve the frequency of the periodic signal obtained in the sampled Talbot interferogram. Theoretical performance analysis based on the Cram\'er-Rao lower bound (CRLB) as well as experimental results are presented and discussed. With this scheme, we experimentally demonstrate a compact and high-precision wavemeter with below 10 pm single-shot estimation uncertainty under the 3-$\sigma$ criterion around 780 nm.