Variable-inclination Mach-Zehnder interferometer for testing laser robs

Kong Lu; Chen Lei; Ding Yu; Wu Zhifei; Zheng Donghui; Zhu Wenhua

doi:10.12086/oee.2020.190254

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Kong L, Chen L, Ding Y, et al. Variable-inclination Mach-Zehnder interferometer for testing laser robs[J]. Opto-Electron Eng, 2020, 47(2): 190254. doi: 10.12086/oee.2020.190254

Citation:

Kong L, Chen L, Ding Y, et al. Variable-inclination Mach-Zehnder interferometer for testing laser robs[J]. Opto-Electron Eng, 2020, 47(2): 190254. doi: 10.12086/oee.2020.190254

Variable-inclination Mach-Zehnder interferometer for testing laser robs

School of Electronic and Optical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210094, China

Fund Project: Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1731115)

More Information

^*Corresponding author: Chen Lei, E-mail:chenlei@njust.edu.cn

Received Date 17 May 2019

Revised Date 20 September 2019

Published Date 01 February 2020

Abstract

Abstract

In order to measure the transmission wavefront of laser rods and to improve the edge diffraction effect of small-aperture laser rods measured by Tayman or Fizeau interferometer, a variable-inclination Mach-Zehnder interferometer was proposed. The incident angle was changed by adjusting the tilting attitude of the phase shifting reflector, then the optical path difference was changed that the phase shift was introduced to the coherent light and the phase shifting interferometry was realized. The transmission wavefront of a laser rod (Nd:YAG) with the diameter of 6 mm and the length of 60 mm was measured by this interferometer, the peak-valley (PV) and root mean square (RMS) of the wavefront were 0.391λ and 0.056λ. The same laser rod was measured by ZYGO GPI XP interferometer, the peak-valley (PV) and root mean square (RMS) were 0.370λ and 0.064λ. The comparison results show that the interferometer can achieve high-precision detection of transmission wavefront of laser robs. The variable-inclination Mach-Zehnder interferometer has high phase-shifting precision and wide phase-shifting range, and the beam in the system can pass through the laser rod only once, which can suppress the multi-beam interference and improve the edge diffraction effect of the small-aperture laser rods.
- interferometry /
- Mach-Zehnder interferometer /
- variable-inclination phase shifting /
- laser rods

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References

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Overview

Overview

Overview: In order to measure the transmission wavefront of laser rods and to improve the edge diffraction effect of small-aperture laser rods measured by a general Tayman or Fizeau interferometer, a variable-inclination phase shifting Mach-Zehnder interferometer was proposed. In the proposed interferometer, the phase shifting reflector was placed on the electric linear rotating table. By adjusting the tilting attitude of the phase shifting reflector, the incident angle into the Mach-Zehnder interference cavity was changed. A laser rod with a certain length was placed in the test optical beam as the test object, and it could be used as a retarder in the equal optical path Mach-Zehnder interferometer to increase the optical path difference between the reference beam and the test beam, so the proposed interference system met the requirement of phase shifting. The optical path difference between the reference beam and the test beam changed each time the incident angle into the Mach-Zehnder interference cavity was transformed by the phase shifting reflector placed on the electric linear rotating table, thereby the phase shifting quantity was introduced to the coherent light. The phase shifting interferometry was realized under the interaction of phase shifting reflector and laser rob. The transmission wavefront of a laser rod (Nd:YAG) with the diameter of 6 mm and the length of 60 mm was measured by this interferometer, the peak-valley value (PV) and root mean square value (RMS) of the wavefront are 0.391λ and 0.056λ. The same laser rod is measured by ZYGO GPI XP interferometer, the peak-valley (PV) and root mean square (RMS) of the wavefront are 0.370λ and 0.064λ. The surface shape and numerical values of the two measurements are consistent, the comparison results show that the proposed interferometer can achieve high precision measurement of transmission wavefront of the laser robs. The proposed variable-inclination phase shifting Mach-Zehnder interferometer can realize periodic phase shifting only by using a reflector with adjustable inclination angle in the traditional Mach-Zehnder interferometer. It has high phase shifting precision and wide phase shifting range. The high precision phase modulation can be achieved by using conventional precision stepping motor. The proposed interferometer system is cheap and compact. The transmission wavefront of a small aperture laser rod can be measured by the variable-inclination phase-shifting system. The beam in the system can pass through the laser rod only once, therefore, the interferometer has obvious advantages in measuring the transmission wavefront of a small-aperture optical element with a certain length. It can effectively suppress the multi-beam interference and improve the edge diffraction effect of small-aperture optical elements.