Heterodyne interferometer scheme using a double pass in an acousto-optic modulator
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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Three-dimensional Optical-resolution Photoacoustic Microscopy
Published on: May 3, 2011
1Department of Physics, Sogang University, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract:
We introduce a heterodyne interferometer scheme utilizing the double-pass arrangement of the deflected beams of an acousto-optic modulator. To prove our new idea, the interferometer has been applied for measuring small amplitude vibrations. The output intermediate frequency signal from the interferometer is processed by using an I/Q demodulator. In theory, it can provide the quantum noise limited sensitivity, whereas, in our present Letter, the sensitivity of the phase measurement is limited by the resolution of the 16 bit A/D converter used for processing the I/Q signals. Details of our interferometer scheme are discussed.
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