RESUMEN
In the companion paper, [Appl. Opt. 46, 5853 (2007)] a highly accurate white light interference model was developed from just a few key parameters characterized in terms of various moments of the source and instrument transmission function. We develop and implement the end-to-end process of calibrating these moment parameters together with the differential dispersion of the instrument and applying them to the algorithms developed in the companion paper. The calibration procedure developed herein is based on first obtaining the standard monochromatic parameters at the pixel level: wavenumber, phase, intensity, and visibility parameters via a nonlinear least-squares procedure that exploits the structure of the model. The pixel level parameters are then combined to obtain the required "global" moment and dispersion parameters. The process is applied to both simulated scenarios of astrometric observations and to data from the microarcsecond metrology testbed (MAM), an interferometer testbed that has played a prominent role in the development of this technology.
RESUMEN
A technique to align automatically the beams of displacement-measuring interferometric gauges is described. The pointing of the launched beam is modulated in a circular pattern, and the resulting displacement signal is demodulated synchronously to determine the alignment error. This error signal is used in a control system that maintains the alignment for maximum path between a pair of fiducial hollow-cube corner retroreflectors, which minimizes sensitivity to alignment drift. The technique is tested on a developmental gauge of the type intended for the Space Interferometry Mission. The displacement signal for the gauge is generated in digital form; and the lock-in amplifier functions of modulation, demodulation, and filtering are all implemented digitally.
