Abstract

The development and initial results from a CO₂ laser interferometer for distance measurement are reported. A retroreflector, positioned in turn at each end point of the length to be measured, forms one arm of an interferometer (Fig. 1) which generates fringes at each source wavelength. Provided the phase data are accurate enough, the distance to the retroreflector (relative to the reference arm) can be calculated unambiguously.

© 1986 Optical Society of America