Influence of Optical Fiber Parameters on the Speckle Pattern and Spectral Observation in Astronomy

Optical fibers serve as a bridge to transmit starlight into the spectrograph in fiber spectral surveys. Due to the interference between multiple modes supported within the fiber, a granular speckle pattern appears on the end of the fiber and leads to an uneven and random energy distribution in the s...

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Main Authors: Anzhi Wang, Jiabin Wang, Zhaoxv Gan, Gang Yue, Xvdong Chen, Qi Yan, Shengjia Wang, Yunxiang Yan, Tao Geng, Shuang Chen, Weimin Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Photonics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/11/11/1056
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author Anzhi Wang
Jiabin Wang
Zhaoxv Gan
Gang Yue
Xvdong Chen
Qi Yan
Shengjia Wang
Yunxiang Yan
Tao Geng
Shuang Chen
Weimin Sun
author_facet Anzhi Wang
Jiabin Wang
Zhaoxv Gan
Gang Yue
Xvdong Chen
Qi Yan
Shengjia Wang
Yunxiang Yan
Tao Geng
Shuang Chen
Weimin Sun
author_sort Anzhi Wang
collection DOAJ
description Optical fibers serve as a bridge to transmit starlight into the spectrograph in fiber spectral surveys. Due to the interference between multiple modes supported within the fiber, a granular speckle pattern appears on the end of the fiber and leads to an uneven and random energy distribution in the spectrum. This effect is called mode noise, which reduces the accuracy of high-resolution spectral detection. This work investigates the influence of transmitted mode numbers on speckle patterns by using fibers with different core diameters and numerical apertures. A reciprocating mechanical scrambler is proposed for suppressing near-field speckles with negligible focal ratio degradation. We use centroid offset and radial power spectrum to quantitatively evaluate the characteristics of the speckles with and without scrambling. Experimental results show that more modes in a fiber with a larger core diameter reduce the centroid offset of the speckle and make the energy distribution more uniform. The mechanical mode scrambler significantly reduces the random centroid deviation caused by speckles, which is more obvious for large-core fibers. The standard deviation of centroid offset in 1000-cycle tests for the 160 µm core fiber is only 0.043 µm, which is one-tenth of that for the 16 µm core fiber. However, in solar spectrum measurement using these fibers, small-core fibers can more easily achieve higher spectral resolution and capture more spectral information. Therefore, large-core fibers are suitable for tasks requiring high accuracy, while fibers with a smaller core diameter should be applied for high-precision spectral measurement.
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spelling doaj-art-286c73b356c4440d91aec4c7a8b5ad8a2025-08-20T02:05:07ZengMDPI AGPhotonics2304-67322024-11-011111105610.3390/photonics11111056Influence of Optical Fiber Parameters on the Speckle Pattern and Spectral Observation in AstronomyAnzhi Wang0Jiabin Wang1Zhaoxv Gan2Gang Yue3Xvdong Chen4Qi Yan5Shengjia Wang6Yunxiang Yan7Tao Geng8Shuang Chen9Weimin Sun10Key Laboratory of In-Fiber Integrated Optics of Ministry of Education, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Fiber Integrated Optics of Ministry of Education, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Fiber Integrated Optics of Ministry of Education, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Fiber Integrated Optics of Ministry of Education, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Fiber Integrated Optics of Ministry of Education, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaYantai Research Institute and Graduate School, Harbin Engineering University, Yantai 264000, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Fiber Integrated Optics of Ministry of Education, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaQingdao Innovation and Development Center, Harbin Engineering University, Qingdao 266000, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Fiber Integrated Optics of Ministry of Education, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaChina Aerodynamics Research and Development Center, State Key Laboratory of Aerodynamics, Mianyang 621000, ChinaKey Laboratory of In-Fiber Integrated Optics of Ministry of Education, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaOptical fibers serve as a bridge to transmit starlight into the spectrograph in fiber spectral surveys. Due to the interference between multiple modes supported within the fiber, a granular speckle pattern appears on the end of the fiber and leads to an uneven and random energy distribution in the spectrum. This effect is called mode noise, which reduces the accuracy of high-resolution spectral detection. This work investigates the influence of transmitted mode numbers on speckle patterns by using fibers with different core diameters and numerical apertures. A reciprocating mechanical scrambler is proposed for suppressing near-field speckles with negligible focal ratio degradation. We use centroid offset and radial power spectrum to quantitatively evaluate the characteristics of the speckles with and without scrambling. Experimental results show that more modes in a fiber with a larger core diameter reduce the centroid offset of the speckle and make the energy distribution more uniform. The mechanical mode scrambler significantly reduces the random centroid deviation caused by speckles, which is more obvious for large-core fibers. The standard deviation of centroid offset in 1000-cycle tests for the 160 µm core fiber is only 0.043 µm, which is one-tenth of that for the 16 µm core fiber. However, in solar spectrum measurement using these fibers, small-core fibers can more easily achieve higher spectral resolution and capture more spectral information. Therefore, large-core fibers are suitable for tasks requiring high accuracy, while fibers with a smaller core diameter should be applied for high-precision spectral measurement.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/11/11/1056optical fiberspecklemode noisespectral accuracy
spellingShingle Anzhi Wang
Jiabin Wang
Zhaoxv Gan
Gang Yue
Xvdong Chen
Qi Yan
Shengjia Wang
Yunxiang Yan
Tao Geng
Shuang Chen
Weimin Sun
Influence of Optical Fiber Parameters on the Speckle Pattern and Spectral Observation in Astronomy
Photonics
optical fiber
speckle
mode noise
spectral accuracy
title Influence of Optical Fiber Parameters on the Speckle Pattern and Spectral Observation in Astronomy
title_full Influence of Optical Fiber Parameters on the Speckle Pattern and Spectral Observation in Astronomy
title_fullStr Influence of Optical Fiber Parameters on the Speckle Pattern and Spectral Observation in Astronomy
title_full_unstemmed Influence of Optical Fiber Parameters on the Speckle Pattern and Spectral Observation in Astronomy
title_short Influence of Optical Fiber Parameters on the Speckle Pattern and Spectral Observation in Astronomy
title_sort influence of optical fiber parameters on the speckle pattern and spectral observation in astronomy
topic optical fiber
speckle
mode noise
spectral accuracy
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/11/11/1056
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