Construction and performance of a Brillouin scattering set-up using a triple-pass tandem Fabry-Perot interferometer

Abstract

A high performance Brillouin scattering set-up is described, which consists of a vernier-type tandem Fabry-Perot interferometer (TFPI) for frequency analysis. The optical system is designed in such a way that alignment of the whole set-up can be achieved and maintained very easily. The very good long-term stability allows sampling times of several days. Along with a detailed discussion of the construction the authors give specifications of the optical components and outline some fast and easy alignment procedures for the TFPI as well as for the peripheral optics. Measurements of light scattered from thermally excited bulk and surface waves in NaCl are presented to demonstrate the performance of the system.