Small-displacement measurements using high-order Hermite-Gauss modes

摘要

We present a scheme for small-displacement measurements using high-order Hermite-Gauss modes and balanced homodyne detection. We demonstrate its use with experimental results of displacement measurements using fundamental transverse mode TEM_(00) and first order transverse mode TEM_(10) as signal modes. The results show a factor of 1.41 improvement in measurement precision with the TEM_(10) mode compared with that with the TEM_(00) mode. This scheme has potential applications in precision metrology, atomic force microscopy, and optical imaging.