Fabrication and characterization of short acetylene-filled photonic microcells

We have developed short (6-10 cm), connectorized acetylene-filled photonic microcells (PMCs) from photonic bandgap fibers that may replace near-IR frequency references for certain applications based on gas-filled glass cells. By using a tapering technique to seal the microcells, we were able to achieve a high transmission efficiency of 80% and moderate line center accuracy of 10 MHz (1σ). This approaches the National Institute of Standard Technology Standard Reference Material 2517a 10 MHz (2σ) accuracy. Using an earlier Q-tipping technique, 37% off-resonant transmission and 5 MHz accuracy were achieved in finding the line center, but a large 13% etalon-like effect appears on the wings of the optical depth. The etalon-like effect is reduced to less than 1% by using the tapering method. In both cases, the microcells could be connectorized, albeit with a reduction in off-resonant transmission efficiency, for integration into multimode fibers or free-space optical systems. Although contamination is introduced during both fabrication techniques, the P13 PMC line center shifts are small with respect to the sub-Doppler line center. This shows that the PMC can be used for moderate-accuracy frequency measurements. Finally, repeatable measurements show that PMCs are stable in terms of total pressure over approximately one year.