Interferometer head and interferometer arrangement with rigid su

Details Interferometer head and interferometer arrangement with rigid su Interferometer head and interferometer arrangement with rigid su

1992-08-11

1994-07-12

Turner, Samuel A.

Optics: measuring and testing

By dispersed light spectroscopy

Utilizing a spectrometer

356356, 356357, G01B 1102

Patent

active

053293568

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to an interferometer head comprising a rigid support body to which there are rigidly connected a beam splitter for spatially dividing laser light into a measuring beam and a reference beam and at least one recombination device at which a respective reference beam which is guided byway of a reference section extending in the interferometer head and a respective measuring beam or measuring beam component which is guided by way of a movable measuring mirror or a reflecting measuring surface interfere, forming at least one optical interference signal.
Interferometer arrangements are already known, in which laser light is passed by way of flexible optical fibers to an interferometer head which is provided with a housing in which the essential optical components of the interferometer are disposed. Those optical components include in particular a beam splitter which divides the laser light originating from the light source which is disposed outside the interferometer head into a measuring beam and a reference beam. While the reference beam passes through a fixed reference section, the measuring beam is guided by way of a movable measuring mirror. At a recombination device which can structurally coincide with the beam splitter, the measuring and reference beams are superimposed and in that way form an optical interference signal. That interference signal or a plurality of such interference signals are passed by way of flexible optical fibers to a photoelectric detector device which is arranged outside the interferometer head and which detects and evaluates those optical interference signals from the interferometer head. An interferometer arrangement of that kind is known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,370. In the known apparatus the light issues from the light feed optical fiber into the closed interior of the interferometer head from which it impinges on to a beam splitter cube of discrete construction. The measuring mirror which is fixed to a sensing pin is arranged in the interior of the interferometer housing. Both the reference section through which the reference beam passes and also the measuring section through which the measuring beam passes lie within the interferometer head and pass through the gaseous medium which is present in the interferometer head and by way of the pressure of which the sensing pin together with measuring mirror can be moved in and out. That arrangement first of all suffers from the disadvantage that the fluctuations in pressure which are intentionally caused in the interior of the interferometer head also alter the refractive index and thus the relevant wavelength on the measuring section. Considerable measurement errors occur with the variation in that wavelength which occurs in the gas medium and in the units of which the interferometric measuring result in fact occurs. In addition, the displacement travel of the measuring mirror which is arranged within the interferometer housing is limited in practice so that only short displacement travels or distances can be measured. Finally, due to the non-collimated light guidance within the interferometer head housing, detection problems arise as the level of light output or power which is coupled into the necessarily thin output optical fibers is very slight. Conversely, when using thicker output optical fibers, it would not be possible accurately to detect the transverse spatial interference pattern.
The object of the present invention is to provide an interferometer head of the general kind set forth in the opening part of this specification, for an interferometer arrangement which is suitable in particular for determining distance or displacement travel, wherein light passes into the interferometer head from a laser light source which is disposed outside the interferometer head, wherein a photoelectric detector device is disposed outside the interferometer head, for detecting and evaluating at least one optical interference signal from the interferometer head, and with which it is also possible precisely to

REFERENCES:
patent: 4120588 (1978-10-01), Chaum

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