Interferometry with optical frequency combs

¹ Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany
² Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Faculty of Physics, Munich, Germany

^* e-mail: nathalie.picque@mpq.mpg.de

Abstract

A frequency comb, a spectrum of equidistant phase-coherent laser lines, can be harnessed for new approaches to interferometry. The dual-comb interferometer exploits the time-domain interference between two combs of slightly different line spacing. The instrument, which performs direct frequency measurements over a broad spectral bandwidth, opens up new perspectives in applications such as spectroscopy, distance metrology or holography.