Differential laser interferometer for nanometer displacement measurements

A dual beam differential laser interferometer/vibrometer measurement system was developed for studying the steady-state and dynamic behavior of low-weight high-performance mechanical systems. This newly developed optical system employs many optical and mechanical design tactics to achieve design targets such as nanometer displacement accuracy, ease of use, capability of measuring untreated structural surfaces, high-measurement bandwidths, and large-dynamic ranges. Both the optical/mechanical configurations and the design approaches adopted are discussed in detail. A flying slider and thin-film disk system currently used in the disk drive industry were used as the testbed to verify the capabilities of this newly developed nanometer structural displacement/velocity measurement system. © 1995, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., All rights reserved.