NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.

Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

PUBLICATIONS

Real-Time Displacement Measurements With a Fabry-Perot Cavity and a Diode Laser

Published

Author(s)

Lowell P. Howard, Jack A. Stone Jr.

Abstract

We present the basic operating principles of a traceable measurement system for use with scanned probe microscopes and nanometer-resolution displacement sensors. Our method is based upon a tunable external-cavity diode laser system which is Pound-Drever-Hall locked to a Fabry-Perot interferometer cavity with mechanical considerations taken for its use as a displacement metrology system. We discuss methods for making real-time measurements of the wide-bandwidth optical heterodyne signals our interferometer system produces. We report initial results using the system to examine known optical mixing errors in a heterodyne Michelson interferometer.
Citation
Precision Engineering-Journal of the International Societies for Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology
Volume
25
Issue
4
Pub Type
Journals

Keywords

diode laser, Fabry-Perot interferometer, microwave frequency counter, nanometrology, optical heterodyne frequency measurement, optical mixing errors
Manufacturing and Metrology

Citation

Howard, L. and Stone, J. (2000), Real-Time Displacement Measurements With a Fabry-Perot Cavity and a Diode Laser, Precision Engineering-Journal of the International Societies for Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology (Accessed October 27, 2025)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact [email protected].

Created January 1, 2000, Updated February 19, 2017
Was this page helpful?