Overcoming the speckle correlation limit to achieve a fiber wavemeter with attometer resolution

Abstract

The measurement of the wavelength of light using speckle is a promising tool for the realization of compact and precise wavemeters and spectrometers. However, the resolution of these devices is limited by strong correlations between the speckle patterns produced by closely spaced wavelengths. Here, we show how principal component analysis of speckle images provides a route to overcome this limit. Using this, we demonstrate a compact wavemeter that measures attometer-scale wavelength changes of a stabilized diode laser, eight orders of magnitude below the speckle correlation limit.