Adelaide Researchers Develop Optical Spectrometer with Six-Femtometre Resolution

Insider Brief

• Researchers led by Adelaide University have developed a speckle-based optical spectrometer that measures light wavelengths at a resolution of six femtometres.
• The team used the device to measure the hyperfine structure of rubidium, marking the first direct measurement of atomic hyperfine structure using a speckle-based spectrometer.
• The technique could support future applications in quantum technologies, atomic clocks, quantum sensing, environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics.
• Photo from Pexels by Marek Piwnicki.

PRESS RELEASE — The international research team, led by Adelaide University, exploited an integrating sphere, a highly reflective hollow cavity that causes light to bounce around inside many times before exiting – to demonstrate a device which can measure the colour (wavelength) composition of light with extreme precision at a resolution of just six femtometres.

“For perspective, this is like measuring the exact height of Mount Everest and knowing if someone laid a single strand of human hair on the very top of the peak,” lead author and Higher Degree by Research candidate Gabriel Britto Monteiro said.

“Optical spectrometers matter because they allow us to measure the colour (wavelength) composition of light with extreme precision, and light carries information about the physical world.