Wavelength-Lock Selector

Select an absorption-cell, etalon, or hybrid wavelength lock from supplied requirements.

Description

Wavelength-lock selection balances a declared absolute atomic-reference requirement with a line-availability flag and etalon range.

Wavelength-lock selection balances a declared absolute atomic-reference requirement with a line-availability flag and etalon range. The returned choice follows a small decision tree.^[1]

Select an absorption-cell, etalon, or hybrid wavelength lock from supplied requirements.

When to use Wavelength-Lock Selector

Use this tool to select an absorption-cell, etalon, or hybrid wavelength lock from supplied requirements.

Prepare the optical measurements, geometry, fitted coefficients or caller-selected thresholds requested. Confirm wavelength, radius/diameter, pulse-width, angle and unit conventions before running the calculation.

How to use Wavelength-Lock Selector and understand its results

Prepare the optical measurements, geometry, fitted coefficients or caller-selected thresholds requested. Confirm wavelength, radius/diameter, pulse-width, angle and unit conventions before running the calculation.
Enter absoluteAtomicReferenceRequired, suitableAbsorptionLineAvailable, requiredTuningRangeGhz, etalonFreeSpectralRangeGhz using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
Read recommendedLock, etalonCoversTuningRange. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.

Input field	Meaning	Value type; see rules below	Requirement
absoluteAtomicReferenceRequired	Absolute atomic reference required	boolean	Required
suitableAbsorptionLineAvailable	Suitable absorption line available	boolean	Required
requiredTuningRangeGhz	Required tuning range (GHz)	number; minimum: 0	Required
etalonFreeSpectralRangeGhz	Etalon free spectral range (GHz)	number; minimum: 0	Required

Enter both boolean requirements and nonnegative tuning range/FSR in GHz. Return the selected label and inclusive etalon-range flag.

if atomicRequired AND lineAvailable: hybrid if FSR≥range else absorption-cell; otherwise etalon

Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.

Output field	Meaning	Value type
recommendedLock	Recommended lock	string; one of "absorption-cell", "etalon", "hybrid"
etalonCoversTuningRange	Etalon covers tuning range	boolean

json

{
  "input": {
    "absoluteAtomicReferenceRequired": true,
    "suitableAbsorptionLineAvailable": true,
    "requiredTuningRangeGhz": 5,
    "etalonFreeSpectralRangeGhz": 10
  },
  "output": {
    "recommendedLock": "hybrid",
    "etalonCoversTuningRange": true
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

The etalon fallback can be returned even when it fails the range check or no atomic line is available. This does not establish feasibility or control hardware.

Numeric inputs must be finite. Follow the calculation-specific rules for overflow, underflow and exceptional cases. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors. A successfully returned false flag is an evaluated outcome; its meaning is explained above.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Use Praseodymium Line Match: Match a requested wavelength to caller-supplied praseodymium fiber lines. For a complementary task, use Mode-Hop Tuning Ratio: Calculate the current-to-grating tuning ratio needed for matched frequency change.

References

Wavelength-Lock Selector — tool.io

Similar or alternative tools

Praseodymium Line Match
Match a requested wavelength to caller-supplied praseodymium fiber lines.
Mode-Hop Tuning Ratio
Calculate the current-to-grating tuning ratio needed for matched frequency change.