Photothermal modulation of laser diode wavelength: application to sinusoidal phase-modulating interferometer for displacement measurements

In this paper, a novel laser-diode (LD) sinusoidal phase-modulating (SPM) interferometer, which utilizes a photothermal technique for LD wavelength modulation, is proposed to measure displacements with a nanometer accuracy. In conventional LD–SPM interferometers, the LD intensity modulation is concurrent with the wavelength modulation, which increases measurement errors. Using the photothermal technique, the LD wavelength modulation can be accomplished with negligible concomitant intensity modulation, and the measurement errors are thus eliminated. The computer simulations and experiment results verify the usefulness of this novel interferometer.