White-light scanning fiber Michelson interferometer for absolute position-distance measurement

A white-light fiber interferometer working in the spatial domain, using two fiber ends in a hollow tube as the sensing head and an electric magnetic actuator-mirror reflector as the path-compensation-measurement element, is presented. Analysis and preliminary experiments have demonstrated a repeatability of 0.5 microm (2sigma) for position-distance measurement, and the measurement uncertainty was estimated to be 1.5 microm (2sigma) over a distance range of 150 microm. Suggestions for further improving the measurement accuracy and response speed are also given.