Fabry–Pérot interferometer

Uncommon card · No. 168103

In optics, a Fabry–Pérot interferometer (FPI), or etalon, is an optical cavity made from two parallel reflecting surfaces (mirrors). Optical waves can pass through the optical cavity only when they are in resonance with it. It is named after French physicists Charles Fabry and Alfred Perot, who developed the instrument in 1899. Etalon is from the French étalon, meaning "measuring gauge" or "standard". Etalons are widely used in telecommunications, lasers and spectroscopy to control and measure the wavelengths of light. Recent advances in fabrication technique allow the creation of very precise tunable Fabry–Pérot interferometers. The device is technically an interferometer when the distance between the two surfaces (and with it the resonance length) can be changed, and an etalon when the distance is fixed (however, the two terms are often used interchangeably).

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