Heterodyne interferometric optical fiber displacement sensor for measuring displacement of an object

摘要

A heterodyne interferometric optical fiber displacement sensor using a laser diode. The frequency and the intensity of the laser diode beam are periodically modulated by an injection current. The laser diode beam is routed to a rod lens via a first optical fiber, an optical fiber coupler, and a second optical fiber. The interference light resulting from the interference between the light reflected from the exit surface of the rod lens and the light reflected from an object surface is routed to a third optical fiber via the optical fiber coupler, which is then detected by a photodiode attached to the end of the third optical fiber. From the output of the photodiode, a given frequency component is extracted using a bandpass-filter. The extracted signal is converted into a pulse signal. The frequency change of the pulse signal (equivalent to a doppler frequency shift caused by the movement of the object surface) is accumulated using an electronic circuit. Then, the accumulated value is used to calculate the displacement of the object surface.