A practical guide to loss measurements using the Fourier transform of the transmission spectrum

Analyzing the internal loss characteristics and multimodedness of (integrated) optical devices can prove difficult. One technique to recover this information is to Fourier transform the transmission spectrum of optical components. This article gives instruction on how to perform the transmission mea...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hannah Thiel, Bianca Nardi, Alexander Schlager, Stefan Frick, Gregor Weihs
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2023-01-01
Series:JPhys Photonics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7647/acff55
Description
Summary:Analyzing the internal loss characteristics and multimodedness of (integrated) optical devices can prove difficult. One technique to recover this information is to Fourier transform the transmission spectrum of optical components. This article gives instruction on how to perform the transmission measurement, prepare the data, and interpret the Fourier spectrum. Our guide offers insights into the influence of sampling, windowing, zero padding as well as Fourier spectrum peak heights and shapes which are previously neglected in the literature but have considerable impact on the results of the method. For illustration, we apply the method to a Bragg-reflection waveguide. We find that the waveguide is multimodal with two modes having very similar group refractive indices but different optical losses.
ISSN:2515-7647