Abstract
We propose a new configuration for a high-resolution heterodyne interferometer that employs a two-longitudinal-mode He-Ne laser with an intermode beat frequency of 600–1000 MHz. The high beat frequency is downconverted to 5 MHz such that the phase change of the interferometer output is precisely measured with a displacement resolution of 0.1 nm. A thermal control scheme is adopted to stabilize the cavity length of the He-Ne plasma tube such that a frequency stability of 2 parts in 109 is obtained by suppression of frequency drifts caused by the phenomena of frequency pulling and polarization anisotropy. This two-longitudinal-mode He-Ne laser yields a high output power of 2.0 mW, which permits multiple measurements of as many as 10 machine axes simultaneously.
© 2002 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
Shuko Yokoyama, Tsutomu Araki, and Norihito Suzuki
Appl. Opt. 33(3) 358-363 (1994)
Xiaofei Diao, Pengcheng Hu, Zi Xue, and Yanhui Kang
Appl. Opt. 55(1) 110-116 (2016)
Yi-Jyh Lin and Ci-Ling Pan
Appl. Opt. 30(13) 1648-1652 (1991)