Abstract

The precision and accuracy of interferometers using quadrature fringe detection are often limited not by the interferometer itself but by the detector system. There are three typical errors: unequal gain in the two channels; quadrature phase shift error; and zero offsets. This paper describes a simple method for determining the quadrature errors from experimental data obtained in the interferometer and correcting for them. A numerical example demonstrating the significant improvement in the precision of interferometer data is given.

© 1981 Optical Society of America

Quadrature phase-shift error analysis using a homodyne laser interferometer

Peter Gregorčič, Tomaž Požar, and Janez Možina
Opt. Express 17(18) 16322-16331 (2009)

Accurate laser wavelength measurement with a precision two-beam scanning Michelson interferometer

J.-P. Monchalin, M. J. Kelly, J. E. Thomas, N. A. Kurnit, A. Szöke, F. Zernike, P. H. Lee, and A. Javan
Appl. Opt. 20(5) 736-757 (1981)

Homodyne laser interferometer involving minimal quadrature phase error to obtain subnanometer nonlinearity

Junning Cui, Zhangqiang He, Yuanwei Jiu, Jiubin Tan, and Tao Sun
Appl. Opt. 55(25) 7086-7092 (2016)

Homodyne interferometry with quadrature fringe detection for absolute gravimeter

Sergiy Svitlov and Akito Araya
Appl. Opt. 53(16) 3548-3555 (2014)

Optimization of displacement-measuring quadrature interferometers considering the real properties of optical components

Tomaž Požar, Peter Gregorčič, and Janez Možina
Appl. Opt. 50(9) 1210-1219 (2011)