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We present the design, bench-top setup, and experimental results of a compact heterodyne interferometer that achieves picometer-level displacement sensitivities in air over frequencies above 100 MHz. The optical configuration with spatially separated beams prevents frequency and polarization mixing, and therefore eliminates periodic errors. The interferometer is designed to maximize common-mode optical laser beam paths to obtain high rejection of environmental disturbances, such as temperature fluctuations and acoustics. The results of our experiments demonstrate the short- and long-term stabilities of the system during stationary and dynamic measurements. In addition, we provide measurements that compare our interferometer prototype with a commercial system, verifying our higher sensitivity of 3 pm, higher thermal stability by a factor of two, and periodic-error-free performance.
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A modified Michelson interferometer to measure sub-milliradian changes in angle
Modern short-range gravity experiments that seek to test the Newtonian inverse-square law or weak equivalence principle of general relativity typically involve measuring the minute variations in the twist angle of a torsion pendulum. Motivated by various theoretical arguments, recent efforts largely focus on measurements with test mass separations in the sub-millimeter regime. To measure the twist, many experiments employ an optical autocollimator with a noise performance of ∼300 nrad/Hz in the 0.1–10 mHz band, enabling a measurement uncertainty of a few nanoradians in a typical integration time. We investigated an alternative method for measuring a small twist angle through the construction of a modified Michelson interferometer. The main modification is the introduction of two additional arms that allow for improved angular alignment. A series of detectors and LabView software routines were developed to determine the orientation of a mirror attached to a sinusoidally driven rotation stage that oscillated with an amplitude of 0.35 mrad and a period of 200 s. In these measurements, the resolution of the interferometer is 8.1 μrad per fringe, while its dynamic range spanned 0.962 mrad. We compare the performance of this interferometric optical system to existing autocollimator-based methods, discussing its implementation, possible advantages, and future potential, as well as disadvantages and limitations.
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- PAR ID:
- 10597427
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Institute of Physics
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- AIP Advances
- Volume:
- 12
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 2158-3226
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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