Virtual Reference™ Interferometry:
Inometrix's products are based on a breakthrough Virtual Reference™ Interferometer technology. This technology represents a paradigm shift in the way we think about the interferometer and allows us to replaces the physical reference path with a virtual one. This elegant technique has many significant advantages while lowering end user costs.

Speed:
The speed of an experiment when using a traditional interferometer such as a Michelson is limited by the need to generate each measurement point independently - each point requires that the tunable laser be scanned and the interference pattern be analyzed. So for example if you want 100 data points in a Dispersion vs. Wavelength data chart you need to scan the laser 100 seperate times. This is not the case for a Virtual Reference™ Interferometer where all the data points are taken at once from a single scan.

The speed advantage of Virtual Reference™ technology is already significant even before it is noted that a Michelson needs to be calibrated before use which requires significant time and care*. The Virtual Reference™ Analyser is a simple "plug and play" system that will give immediate and repeatable results regardless of location and environmental conditions.

*You will notice that specification sheets of competing products based on traditional interferometry will perhaps quote a reasonable measurement time but with the small print "Excludes calibration time."

Higher precision:
(up to 1,000,000 times higher)

The shift to Virtual Reference™ technology allows for a much higher measurement precision. For example, measurement of Group Velocity Dispersion (GVD) and Chromatic Dispersion (CD) by the Virtual Reference™ Analyser can be determined to 0.0001 ps² and 0.0001 ps/nm respectively. This is one million times better than anything else on the market. The higher precision capability of the Virtual Reference™ Analyser allows you to produce higher quality products with tighter specifcations which in turn allows you to increase product prices accordingly.

This higher sensitivity also makes dispersion characterization of short lengths of speciality fiber such as Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) possible.

Ideal for University:
In addition to the unrivaled precision, other significant advantages of the Virtual Reference™ Analyser are that it does not require a dedicated lab space with optical tables, requires no callibration and can be used by a non-technical professional. This is ideal for University research.

Cost:
Traditional interferometers are expensive for several reasons - they require extra components such as expensive optical delay lines, equipment for monitoring their calibration and temperature/stability control systems. The Virtual Reference Analyser replaces all of this with a simple "plug and play" system at a fraction of the cost.

The table below shows how choosing Virtual Reference™ can save an average-sized company over $400,000 in the first year alone (based on average industry testing and is to be used as a guide only).

Summary:
In summary In the fiber optic test equipment industry, characterization systems based on Virtual Reference technology such as Inometrix's Virtual Reference™ Analyser are the only solution on the market that surpasses the accuracy of a custom-built interferometer while keeping affordable.