This paper describes periodic error in differentialpath interferometry using a Frequency-Path model of the propagation of light from the source to detector in differentialpath interferometers. The model identifies each possible path for each light frequency from the source to detector and predicts the number of interference terms that may be expected at the detector output. The behavior of all ...

High-resolution saturation spectroscopy of iodine transitions at 637 nm is used to generate physically stable frequency reference markers for an interferometric absolute distance measurement based on frequency-scanning interferometry. Both experiments are performed simultaneously, posing severe challenges to the in principle well-established experimental techniques. The software-based enhanceme...

The design and laboratory tests of the interferometers for the Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI) instrument which measures thermospheric wind and temperature for the NASA-sponsored Ionospheric Connection (ICON) Explorer mission are described. The monolithic interferometers use the Doppler Asymmetric Spatial Heterodyne (DASH) Spectroscopy techniqu...

With a specially designed probe, the phase difference between s andp polarization of light reflected under surface-plasmon resonance is measured by use of a common-path heterodyne interferometer. For specific ratios of phase difference to glucose concentration, the glucose concentration can be estimated as a function of the measured phase data. A prototype was set up to demonstrate the feasibil...

We propose to use low-coherence-length cw optical sources with a broad spectrum in heterodyne near-field scanning microscopy in order to imitate optical pulse propagation and to obtain information about spectrally variant properties of nanophotonic components. The dispersion difference in the interferometer arms for a symmetric acousto-optic modulator arrangement is shown to be negligible over ...

The investigation of an alternate approach to nondestructive, nanoscale mechanical imaging for IC interconnect structures is reported. This approach utilizes a heterodyne interferometer based on a scanning probe microscope, also referred to as heterodyne force microscopy (HFM). This interferometer is sensitive to the relative phase difference of the two ultrasonic excitations due to spatial var...

Effect of proton irradiation on poly~vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene! 56/44 mol % copolymer has been studied using a Mach–Zehnder heterodyne interferometer, polarization hysteresis loop and dielectric constant measurements. The electrical-field-induced strain response of the copolymer after proton bombardment follows a quadratic electrostriction relationship. The electrostrictive coeffici...

The optical properties of a caesium atomic beam driven on a resonant hyperfine transition in the D(2) line were studied as a function of the probe laser frequency. Using a third off-resonant laser system, a heterodyne interferometer allowed simultaneous absorption and phase shift measurements of either the probe or the coupling laser. The signal features of the probe and coupling laser transmit...

Frequency-shifted feedback (FSF) lasers are potential candidates for long distance telemetry due to the appearance of beatings in the noise spectrum at the output of a homodyne interferometer: the frequencies of these beatings vary linearly with the path delay. In this Letter we demonstrate that these beatings also occur in the heterodyne mixing of two identical, but distinct, FSF lasers. This ...

We describe a new technique, femtosecond transillumination optical coherence tomography, for time-gated imaging of objects embedded in scattering media. Time gating is performed with a fiber-optic interferometer with femtosecond pulses and coherent heterodyne detection to achieve a 130-dB dynamic range. A confocal imaging arrangement provides additional spatial discrimination against multiply s...