Open AccessAbsolute distance measurement by dual-comb nonlinear asynchronous optical sampling
Author(s) -
Hongyuan Zhang,
Haoyun Wei,
Xuejian Wu,
Honglei Yang,
Yan Li
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.22.006597
Subject(s) - optics , interferometry , laser , sampling (signal processing) , range (aeronautics) , nonlinear system , physics , frequency comb , materials science , detector , quantum mechanics , composite material
A dual-comb nonlinear asynchronous optical sampling method is proposed to simplify determination of the time interval and extend the non-ambiguity range in absolute length measurements. Type II second harmonic generation facilitates curve fitting in determining the time interval between adjacent pulses. Meanwhile, the non-ambiguity range is extended by adjusting the repetition rate of the signal laser. The performance of the proposed method is compared with a heterodyne interferometer. Results show that the system achieves a maximum residual of 100.6 nm and an uncertainty of 1.48 μm in a 0.5 ms acquisition time. With longer acquisition time, the uncertainty can be reduced to 166.6 nm for 50 ms and 82.9 nm for 500 ms. Moreover, the extension of the non-ambiguity range is demonstrated by measuring an absolute distance beyond the inherent range determined by the fixed repetition rate.