CORRELATION INTERFEROMETRY AT $0.1 cm^{-1}$ RESOLUTION

Author Institution: Digilab, Inc.; Block EngineeringThe problem of information storage and retrieval is particularly acute in High Resolution Spectroscopy. It is well understood that one example of the realization of the Wiener-Khintchine theorem is in Fourier Spectroscopy. A practical implication of this knowledge is that two spectra may be correlated by taking the norm of their interferograms. This approach reduces the information bandwidth requirements, and the computational effort required for the correlation. This paper discusses the theory of correlation interferometry: classical (cross) correlation, decision theory, S/N in correlation, logical correlation and matched filter correlation. A practical realization of correlation interometry is demonstrated with CO gas at low pressure and $0.1 cm^{-1}$ resolution. The experiment was performed on the Digilab 496 interferometer, using an FTS-20 data system