Etalons
A Fabry-Perot etalon, which consists of two
highly reflective surfaces with a precisely
controlled separation, functions as a multi-
ple wavelength, ultra-narrow bandpass fil-
ter. Etalons are most useful as laser wave-
length stabilization components and for
interleaving closely spaced wavelengths in
various DWDM applications.
Spectra-Physics produces three types of
Fabry-Perot etalons; solid, air-spaced and
thermally insensitive air-spaced. Solid
etalons are single, thin (approximately 2
mm thick) plane parallel plates with high
reflection coatings on both surfaces. The
primary advantage of solid etalons are
their very compact size. Air-spaced etalons
are comprised of two plane parallel plates
optically contacted to two glass spacers.
The plates have an antireflection coating
on their outer surfaces and a high reflec-
tion coating on their inner surfaces.
Optical contact enables precise control of
reflector separation (since there is no glue
thickness to consider) and prevents poten-
tial adhesive outgassing. Air-spaced
etalons are larger than solid etalons, but
offer superior thermal stabililty. Our
unique, thermally insensitive air-spaced
etalons offer the ultimate in frequency sta-
bility. They are a completely passive
design which use a combination of materi-
als specifically designed to offset thermal
expansion. All Spectra-Physics etalons uti-
lize low loss, high efficiency optical coat-
ings to deliver maximum finesse and tight-
ly controlled free spectral range (FSR).
1335 Terra Bella Avenue, Mountain View CA 94043 Toll free 1-888-735-5774
Telephone +1-650-966-5444 e-mail: telecomsales@splasers.com
Miniature etalons for laser
wavelength stabilization and
DWDM applications
Product
Summary
Features
▲High finesse
▲Telcordia compliant
▲Volume manufacturing
▲Available for C and L bands
Applications
▲Wavelength lockers
▲Interleavers
▲Dispersion compensators
Etalons
Spectral Performance AIR SPACED SOLID
Thermally insensitive
Free Spectral 100 GHz 50 GHz 100 GHz 50 GHz 100 GHz 50 GHz
Range
Free Spectral +/-9 MHz +/-2 MHz +/-9 MHz +/-2 MHz +/-5 MHz +/-3 MHz
Tolerance
Finesse 0.6-1500 0.6-1500 0.6-1500 0.6-1500 0.6-1500 0.6-1500
Other Parameters
Thermal Stability +/-9 GHz +/-5 GHz +/-5 MHz +/-2 MHz +/-55 GHz +/-55 GHz
(0-70 C in air) (0-70 C in air) (0-70 C in air) (0-70 C in air) (0-70 C in air) (0-70 C in air)
Material ULE/Silica ULE/Silica Zerodur/Silica/BK7 Zerodur/Silica/BK7 Fused Silica Fused Silica
or or
Zerodur/Silica Zerodur/Silica
Coating Process IAD IAD IAD IAD IAD IAD
Contact Sales for additional product information.
Due to our continuous improvement program, specifications are subject change without notice.
276PSSPT-02 5M4/1
Typical Spectral Performance
-15
-13
-11
-9
-7
-5
-3
-1
191100 191200 191300 191400 191500 191600 191700 191800 191900 192000 192100
Frequency (GHz)
Transmission (dB)
