Optical pulse propagation in a Fabry–Perot etalon: analytical discussion

Abstract

The phase modulation and dispersion property of a Fabry-Perot etalon are investigated analytically. It is demonstrated that within the resonant dispersion region in the etalon transmission spectrum, effective time delay of light pulse propagation can be achieved, and the maximum delay period can be simply related to the mirror reflectivity and optical length of the etalon. With a much simplified model, the influences of etalon parameters on the transmitted Gaussian pulse are evaluated, and simple relations regarding pulse distortion and energy loss are obtained to illustrate the temporal properties of the etalon.