Spectral super-resolution using random laser as a light source

What is it about?

The resolution of a spectrometer is defined by the Rayleigh criterion, which is the ability to identify two adjacent spectral lines. The properties of both the spectrometer and detector determine the instrumental line profile I(λ). The full-width at half-maximum of I(λ) finally sets the spectrometer resolution. We introduce the concept of super-resolution spectroscopy based on sparse sampling in the frequency domain. The idea is akin to the ingenious scheme of "Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy." We manifest the concept of spectral super-resolution by replacing a conventional light source with a random laser source. To test the idea, we consider the interference fringes of the etalon, which was beyond the resolution limit of the spectrometer. We find that by recording the amplitudes and frequencies for the most prominent peaks through a series of chaotic spectra, it is possible to reconstruct the super-resolved transmission function of a sample with its original contrast.

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