Title :
External cavity laser sensor using synchronously-pumped laser diode for position measurements of rough surfaces
Author :
Czarske, J. ; Möbius, J. ; Moldenhauer, K. ; Ertmer, W.
Author_Institution :
Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., Germany
Abstract :
A novel optical sensor for absolute position measurements of rough surfaces is presented. The technical surface acts as reflector of an external cavity for an antireflection-coated laser diode. Evaluation of the resulting mode spacing determines the laser cavity length, i.e. the distance to the rough surface. Modelocking by synchronous pumping of the laser diode allows highly-resolved measurements with position resolution of 5 μm and temporal resolution of 200 μs.
Keywords :
laser cavity resonators; laser mode locking; measurement by laser beam; optical pumping; optical sensors; position measurement; rough surfaces; semiconductor lasers; surface topography measurement; antireflection coated laser diode; external cavity laser sensor; external cavity reflector; highly resolved measurements; laser cavity length; laser mode locking; optical sensor; position measurements; rough surfaces; synchronously pumped laser diode;
Journal_Title :
Electronics Letters
DOI :
10.1049/el:20046843
