Fabry-Pérot interferometer utilized for displacement measurement in a large measuring range

Rev Sci Instrum. 2010 Sep;81(9):093102. doi: 10.1063/1.3480551.

Abstract

The optical configuration of a Fabry-Pérot interferometer is uncomplicated. This has already been applied in different measurement systems. For the displacement measurement with the Fabry-Pérot interferometer, the result is significantly influenced by the tilt angles of the measurement mirror in the interferometer. Hence, only for the rather small measuring range, the Fabry-Pérot interferometer is available. The goal of this investigation is to enhance the measuring range of Fabry-Pérot interferometer by compensating the tilt angles. To verify the measuring characteristic of the self-developed Fabry-Pérot interferometer, some comparison measurements with a reference standard have been performed. The maximum deviation of comparison experiments is less than 0.3 μm in the traveling range of 30 mm. The experimental results show that the Fabry-Pérot interferometer is highly stable, insensitive to environment effects, and can meet the measuring requirement of the submicrometer order.