Involved Research units:

Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia "Ettore Majorana" dell'Università di Catania

Dipartimento di Fisica del Politecnico di MILANO

Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania - Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica

Telescopio Nazionale Galileo - Fundación Galileo Galilei

Participants:

Funded Application

• Proposal

Research Areas

Publications

• Barberio N. S., et al. "Octave-spanning 10-GHz Er-doped solid state optical frequency comb (APL Photonics, under review)"

Seminars and Invited Talks

• Barberio N.S., Leone F., Canella F., Galzerano G., Laporta P. "Ultra Broadband optical frequency combs for astronomical spectrograph calibration"
  Osservatorio Astronomico di Merate, 18 Aprile 2025
• Barberio N.S., Leone F., Canella F., Galzerano G., Laporta P. "Solid-State Frequency Combs with Repetition Rates from tens of kHz to tens of GHz"
  University of Wien, 4 Dec. 2025
• Barberio N.S., Leone F., Canella F., Galzerano G., Laporta P. "Ultra Broadband optical frequency combs for astronomical calibration ASTROCOMBS"
  NEW TRENDS IN PHOTONICS, A VOLTA-INSPIRED WORKSHOP ON LIGHT AND BEYOND, 16-18 sept. 2025, Como
  University of Wien, 4 Dec. 2025

Project meetings

• Kick-off, progress and final meetings of the project were held at the Physics Department of PoliMi, Fundación Galileo Galilei in La Palma and Catania Astrophysical Observatory.

Outreach

• TNG astronomers interact with hundreds of visitors every year. During exhibitions, lectures, and guided tours, they explain how the laser frequency comb acts as a “ruler of light,” producing a series of perfectly equally spaced and highly stable spectral lines, like the teeth of a comb. This extremely precise reference allowed instruments to be accurately calibrated in wavelength, reducing errors and significantly improving the quality of spectroscopic measurements, for example in studying stellar motions or detecting exoplanets.

Project Status

• Because of the 8 month delay in the delivery of the 10 GHz laser, we have
• The NIR-Astrocomb is properly working at the CNR laboratory in Milan. here is a picture of the
  
  of the spectrum as obtained at low resolution with the Fourier Transform Spectrograph. However, comb-teeths are cleary separated.
• We are upgrading the system's capabilities to withstand the harsh operational stress at the TNG.
• The laser-comb is expected to be installed at the TNG in September 2026.

Contact Us

We welcome collaborations and inquiries. Please contact us at:

• Email: francesco.leone@inaf.it
• Address: Sezione Astrofisica - Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia "Ettore Majorana" - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania - I95123 Via S. Sofia n. 78. Catania
• Website: NIR-ASTROCOMB