EXFO wavelength meters now traceable to NIST Standard Reference Material

EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. has improved the accuracy of its wavelength meters in order to link them directly to reference material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

To have confidence in measurements carried out by a wavelength meter, it is necessary to verify that measurements are traceable to a well-known standard, say EXFO representatives. This is done by demonstrating an unbroken chain of comparisons, starting with a national standards laboratory such as NIST.

The absolute wavelength measurement accuracy of each EXFO Wavemeter system (WA-7100, WA-1150 and WA-1100) is guaranteed to ± 1.5 picometers. The performance of every unit is verified using a laser with a wavelength that is known to be better than ± 0.5 picometers, and is traceable to NIST Standard Reference Material SRM 2517a.

EXFO also provides two other Wavemeter systems (WA-7600 and WA-1650) with an accuracy of ± 0.3 picometers. NIST does not provide a standard reference material that allows for traceability at that minute level, however.

"EXFO has more than 20 years of experience with absolute optical wavelength measurements," said David Farrell, president of Burleigh Instruments, a wholly owned subsidiary of EXFO. "With this experience, we know what factors affect wavelength measurement and we account for these factors. such as temperature and atmospheric pressure."

Burleigh Instruments, a division of EXFO, designs and manufactures high precision electro-optical and piezoelectric-based products for optical test and measurement and sub-micron linear positioning applications. Its products are used in research, engineering and production testing environments worldwide. For more information, visit EXFO's Web site at www.exfo.com.