Acetylene has many spectral lines in the 1.55 micron spectral region, and as such has been widely used as a frequency standard for the optical telecommunications C-band.

Frequency standards stabilised to Dopplerfree acetylene standards have been demonstrated in various laboratories, but these have typically been elaborate systems using cavity-enhancement and as such comparatively difficult to develop into more robust and portable systems. The aim of this work is to develop simpler standards which are still capable of the desired level of performance.