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Many-Wavelength Interferometry with Thousands of Lasers for Absolute Distance Measurement

S. A. van den Berg, S. T. Persijn, G. J. P. Kok, M. G. Zeitouny, and N. Bhattacharya
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 183901 – Published 1 May 2012
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    Abstract

    We demonstrate a new technique for absolute distance measurement with a femtosecond frequency comb laser, based on unraveling the output of an interferometer to distinct comb modes with 1 GHz spacing. From the fringe patterns that are captured with a camera, a distance is derived by combining spectral and homodyne interferometry, exploiting about 9000 continuous wave lasers. This results in a measurement accuracy far within an optical fringe (λ/30), combined with a large range of nonambiguity (15 cm). Our technique merges multiwavelength interferometry and spectral interferometry, within a single scheme.

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    • Received 6 December 2011

    DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.183901

    © 2012 American Physical Society

    Authors & Affiliations

    S. A. van den Berg*, S. T. Persijn, and G. J. P. Kok

    • National Metrology Institute VSL, Thijsseweg 11, 2629 JA Delft, The Netherlands

    M. G. Zeitouny and N. Bhattacharya

    • Technische Universiteit Delft, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands

    • *svdberg@vsl.nl

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    Issue

    Vol. 108, Iss. 18 — 4 May 2012

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    Images

    • Figure 1
      Figure 1
      Schematic overview of the setup for unraveling the output of a Michelson interferometer into distinct modes. In the inset (a) a small fraction of a typical CCD image is shown, as obtained with the measurement path blocked. Inset (b) shows a part of the CCD image when interference between the two arms occurs. The mode-resolved signal is mapped on a frequency axis by stitching together vertical lines, as schematically indicated by the white arrows (in reality one vertical line consists of about 50 dots). The result is shown in (c).Reuse & Permissions
    • Figure 2
      Figure 2
      Measurements obtained with the VIPA interferometer for various delays between measurement and reference path. Images (a), (b), and (c) are taken at a delay of 33  μm, 2.5 mm, and 20 mm, respectively. Image (d) shows the case of maximum pulse separation, which occurs at Lpp/4=73.9  mm, showing π phase difference between neighboring comb modes. Images (e) and (f) are taken at a delay of 110 mm and 147.5 mm, respectively. For clarity only a quarter of the total CCD chip area is shown.Reuse & Permissions
    • Figure 3
      Figure 3
      The unraveled comb, with the frequency samples stitched together along the frequency axis. The frequency of a single dot is obtained from f(p)=frep(Q−p)+f0, with p the sample number, Q an integer equal to 365 457, as determined by the frequency calibration, frep=1014.82  MHz and f0=−180  MHz. Left: delay of 33  μm. Right: delay of 2.5 mm, zoomed to a fraction of the full scale for clarity. The individual samples are indicated by black dots. The solid (red) curves represent a cosine fit through the data.Reuse & Permissions
    • Figure 4
      Figure 4
      Comparison between comb-based distance measurements using the VIPA spectrometer and a counting HeNe laser. The uncertainty bars represent the uncertainty on a homodyne measurement, resulting from the uncertainty on the cosine fit.Reuse & Permissions
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