A method is proposed to solve the problem of direction discrimination for laser feedback interferometers. By vibrating the feedback mirror with a small-amplitude and high-frequency sine wave, laser intensity is modula...A method is proposed to solve the problem of direction discrimination for laser feedback interferometers. By vibrating the feedback mirror with a small-amplitude and high-frequency sine wave, laser intensity is modulated accordingly. The modulation amplitude can be extracted using a phase sensitive detector （PSD）. When the feedback mirror moves, the PSD output shows a quasi-sine waveform similar to a laser intensity interference fringe but with a phase difference of approximately ±π/2. If the movement direction of the feedback mirror changes, the phase difference sign reverses. Therefore, the laser feedback interferometer offers a potential application in displacement measurement with a resolution of 1/8 wavelength and in-time direction discrimination. Without using optical components such as polarization beam splitters and wave plates, the interferometer is very simple, easy to align, and less costly.展开更多
This paper demonstrates the influence of external optical feedback on the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic microchip Nd：YAG lasers. Under optical feedback, the polarization state of longitu...This paper demonstrates the influence of external optical feedback on the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic microchip Nd：YAG lasers. Under optical feedback, the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic lasers relies strongly on the intracavity anisotropy loss and mode competition. When the intracavity anisotropy loss is small, external optical feedback can cause polarization switching and strong mode competition between two orthogonal linearly polarized eigenstates of one laser longitudinal mode, which leads to the distortion of laser intensity modulation waveform. The polarization switching is independent of the initial external cavity length. By increasing the intracavity anisotropy loss, one polarization eigenstate can be suppressed and the laser works in single-polarization state. A theoretical analysis based on the compound cavity model is presented, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The results offer guidance to the development of laser feedback interferometers.展开更多
文摘A method is proposed to solve the problem of direction discrimination for laser feedback interferometers. By vibrating the feedback mirror with a small-amplitude and high-frequency sine wave, laser intensity is modulated accordingly. The modulation amplitude can be extracted using a phase sensitive detector （PSD）. When the feedback mirror moves, the PSD output shows a quasi-sine waveform similar to a laser intensity interference fringe but with a phase difference of approximately ±π/2. If the movement direction of the feedback mirror changes, the phase difference sign reverses. Therefore, the laser feedback interferometer offers a potential application in displacement measurement with a resolution of 1/8 wavelength and in-time direction discrimination. Without using optical components such as polarization beam splitters and wave plates, the interferometer is very simple, easy to align, and less costly.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30870662)
文摘This paper demonstrates the influence of external optical feedback on the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic microchip Nd：YAG lasers. Under optical feedback, the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic lasers relies strongly on the intracavity anisotropy loss and mode competition. When the intracavity anisotropy loss is small, external optical feedback can cause polarization switching and strong mode competition between two orthogonal linearly polarized eigenstates of one laser longitudinal mode, which leads to the distortion of laser intensity modulation waveform. The polarization switching is independent of the initial external cavity length. By increasing the intracavity anisotropy loss, one polarization eigenstate can be suppressed and the laser works in single-polarization state. A theoretical analysis based on the compound cavity model is presented, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The results offer guidance to the development of laser feedback interferometers.
