Quasi-monolithic heterodyne laser interferometer for inertial sensing
Yanqi Zhang, Felipe Guzmán
Abstract
We present a compact heterodyne laser interferometer developed for high-sensitivity displacement sensing applications. This interferometer consists of customized prisms and wave plates assembled as a quasi-monolithic unit to realize a miniaturized system. The interferometer design adopts a common-mode rejection scheme to provide a high rejection ratio to common environmental noise. Experimental tests in vacuum show a displacement sensitivity level of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>11</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace width="thinmathspace"/> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">p</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:msqrt> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">H</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">z</mml:mi> </mml:msqrt> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>100</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace width="thinmathspace"/> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">H</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">z</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> and as low as <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>0.6</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace width="thinmathspace"/> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">p</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:msqrt> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">H</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">z</mml:mi> </mml:msqrt> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> above <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace width="thinmathspace"/> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">p</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . The prototype unit is <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>20</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace width="thinmathspace"/> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>20</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace width="thinmathspace"/> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace width="thinmathspace"/> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">m</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> in size and weighs <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>4.5</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mspace width="thinmathspace"/> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">g</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> , allowing subsequent integration in compact systems.