Comparison of three focus sensors for optical topography measurement of rough surfaces.

The study compares three variants of focus sensors designed for the optical topography measurement of rough surface specimens with submicron accuracy. We present a theoretical analysis of the focus sensor principles and the experimental measurements with a single point laser probe. A low coherent illumination beam was provided by a monochromatic laser source and a rotating diffuser, which reduced the speckles generated by the rough surface. The reflected beam was modulated by three specific optical elements (axicon, double wedge prism, four spherical lenses) realized by a spatial light modulator. A digital camera detected the output intensity patterns that were evaluated by the intensity centroid method. The results showed a good coincidence of the surface profiles obtained by the three sensor variants with the root-mean-square deviations below one micron. We discuss the results obtained for several specimens with various surface roughness and compare the differences between the three focus sensor variants.

Self-referenced interferometer for cylindrical surfaces.

We present a new interferometric method for shape measurement of hollow cylindrical tubes. We propose a simple and robust self-referenced interferometer where the reference and object waves are represented by the central and peripheral parts, respectively, of the conical wave generated by a single axicon lens. The interferogram detected by a digital camera is characterized by a closed-fringe pattern with a circular carrier. The interference phase is demodulated using spatial synchronous detection. The capabilities of the interferometer are experimentally tested for various hollow cylindrical tubes with lengths up to 600 mm.

Spectral properties of molecular iodine in absorption cells filled to specified saturation pressure.

We present the results of measurement and evaluation of spectral properties of iodine absorption cells filled at certain saturation pressure. A set of cells made of borosilicate glass instead of common fused silica was tested for their spectral properties in greater detail with special care for the long-term development of the absorption media purity. The results were compared with standard fused silica cells and the high quality of iodine was verified. A measurement method based on an approach relying on measurement of linewidth of the hyperfine transitions is proposed as a novel technique for iodine cell absorption media purity evaluation. A potential application in laser metrology of length is also discussed.

Active angular alignment of gauge blocks in double-ended interferometers.

This paper presents a method implemented in a system for automatic contactless calibration of gauge blocks designed at ISI ASCR. The system combines low-coherence interferometry and laser interferometry, where the first identifies the gauge block sides position and the second one measures the gauge block length itself. A crucial part of the system is the algorithm for gauge block alignment to the measuring beam which is able to compensate the gauge block lateral and longitudinal tilt up to 0.141 mrad. The algorithm is also important for the gauge block position monitoring during its length measurement.

Detection of interference phase by digital computation of quadrature signals in homodyne laser interferometry.

We have proposed an approach to the interference phase extraction in the homodyne laser interferometry. The method employs a series of computational steps to reconstruct the signals for quadrature detection from an interference signal from a non-polarising interferometer sampled by a simple photodetector. The complexity trade-off is the use of laser beam with frequency modulation capability. It is analytically derived and its validity and performance is experimentally verified. The method has proven to be a feasible alternative for the traditional homodyne detection since it performs with comparable accuracy, especially where the optical setup complexity is principal issue and the modulation of laser beam is not a heavy burden (e.g., in multi-axis sensor or laser diode based systems).