Note: Measurement speed improvement of microchip Nd:YAG laser feedback interferometer

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Metrology
• Instrumentation Science

Background:

• Quasi-common-path laser feedback interferometers offer compact and robust optical designs.
• Achieving high measurement speeds is crucial for dynamic applications in precision engineering and manufacturing.
• Existing systems face limitations in speed due to factors like signal processing and system parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze and overcome the measurement speed limitations of quasi-common-path laser feedback interferometers.
• To demonstrate a substantial improvement in the maximum measurable speed.
• To validate the enhanced performance against a gold standard instrument.

Main Methods:

• Optimization of key system parameters within the quasi-common-path laser feedback interferometer.
• Development and implementation of a novel signal processing algorithm.
• Experimental verification using an Agilent 5529A dual-frequency laser interferometer as a reference.

Main Results:

• The measurement speed limit was successfully increased from 100 μm/s to 60 mm/s.
• The optimized system demonstrated significantly improved performance.
• Experimental results confirmed the enhanced speed and accuracy.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully enhanced the measurement speed of quasi-common-path laser feedback interferometers.
• Optimized parameters and novel signal processing are key to achieving high-speed measurements.
• This advancement holds potential for applications requiring rapid, high-precision displacement sensing.