Abstract:
A single laser is stabilized sequentially in time with respect to different wavelengths in conjunction with a continuous, preferably linear, wavelength transition for absolute optical interferometric measurement. During the wavelength transition, the number of the traversing interferences is counted in a measuring channel. The length of a measuring section may be measured in absolute terms to give known and stable wavelengths and phase measurements of the two wavelengths. Active integrated optics and residual phase measurement by compensation in the integrated optics make it possible to detect wavelength differences of 10 −7  λ.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to optical interferometric length measurement. More particularly, this invention pertains to a method and device in which a high coherence length beam or beam component stabilized with respect to a reference section is split and then recombined after the components traverse reference and measuring sections, the interference pattern is detected, the resulting signal amplified and the measuring signal generated in accordance with a predetermined modulation pattern. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Prior art optical interferometric length measuring systems employ a stabilized, coherent laser light source whose output is split into two components, a reference beam and a measuring beam. The reference beam is retroreflected after traversing a fixed section while the measuring beam is reflected at the measuring object. Two retroreflected partial beams are recombined and directed to an interference with the period λ/2 where λ is the wavelength of the laser light. By measuring the interference phase with an accuracy of 10 −4 , it is possible to achieve resolution in the sub-nanometer range. However, the measuring signal obtained is ambiguous, as it repeats itself with a period of λ/2. A disadvantage for length measurement is the necessity to start with an accurate zero mark (in regard to spatial position) whose periods must be counted and stored. This measuring principle is known as incremental length measurement. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates the principle of prior art three-beam interferometry in which three (partial) beams are employed to obtain a signal for laser stabilization from the reference section between a first reflector and a second reflector, and the measuring signal from a measuring reflector. 
     A prior art arrangement (see DE 43 14 486 C2) for three-beam interferometry for absolute length measurement is illustrated in FIG.  3 . The illustrated absolute measurement interferometer arrangement  1  has two tunable lasers  2 ,  3 . The laser  2  is modulated by means of an operating current supply (not shown) in a wavelength region of its characteristic free from mode jumps whereas the laser  3  is operated at a fixed wavelength. A measuring interferometer  4  is provided in which an interferometer arm  5  forms the actual measuring section. The generation of at least two mutually interfering component beams  6 ,  7  is accomplished by photodetectors  11  and  12 . The. photodetectors  11  and  12  are connected to counting electronics (not shown) while the lasers  2  and  3  are connected to a laser wavelength control device (again not shown). A control interferometer  13  whose control section  14  is of constant length (shorter than half the length of the measuring section) is provided in the immediate vicinity of the measuring interferometer  4 . Otherwise, the control interferometer  13  corresponds to the measuring interferometer  4 . 
     The beam of the same laser  2 ,  3  is applied to the measuring interferometer  4  and to the control interferometer  13  by means of a primary beam splitter  15  and a reflector  16 . Coupling of the beam of the laser  2  is performed via a reflector  17 . The determination of the absolute distance—L abs  can be performed, for example, by using the measured residual phases φ 1  and φ 2  in an interval about the distance determined by the method of continuous tunability to determine the distance for which the following equation: 
     
       
           L   abs =( n   1 +φ 1 )(λ 1 /2)=( n   2 +φ 2 )(λ 2 /2) 
       
     
     is most effectively satisfied with the interval being greater than twice the expected measuring uncertainty and less than half the synthetic wavelength. In the case of continuous transition from one wavelength to the other, the interferences Δn traversed are counted: 
     
       
         Δ n=n   2   −n   1 . 
       
     
     It follows from the above that: 
     
       
           n   1 =(Δ n +φ 2 −φ 1 )(λ 1 /(λ 1 −λ 2 )) 
       
     
     Thus, given known and stable wavelengths λ 1  and λ 2 , n 1  can be determined by measuring Δn, φ 1  and φ 2 . Consequently, the length L of the measuring section can be measured in absolute terms or calculated in accordance with the above formula. 
     According to this prior art method, it is necessary to measure the ordinal number difference Δn of the interference as well as the two residual phases φ 1  and φ 2 . Absolute accuracy is therefore a function of the accuracy of the residual phase measurements, φ 1  and φ 2 . In the prior art, residual phase measurement is accomplished by measuring the intensity of the interference signal for the controlled wavelengths λ 1  and λ 2 . Absolute length measurement is thereby limited to an accuracy of λ/100 (compare DE 43 14 486 C2, column 8). Moreover, measuring accuracy is a function of the constancy of the light intensity, which increases the outlay. 
     SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the invention to provide apparatus and a method for absolute interferometric length measurement with substantially enhanced resolution and accuracy. 
     Another object of this invention is to achieve the above object at as little additional expense as possible. 
     The present invention addresses the preceding and other objects by providing, in a first aspect, an improvement in a method for optical interferometric length measurement in which a beam, or beam component, of a laser of high coherence length that is stabilized with respect to a reference section is split into two partial beams. One of the partial beams is reunited after traversing a reference section while the other is reunited after traversing a measuring section. The interference pattern is detected by a detector and the resulting signal is amplified and a measuring signal is generated in accordance with a prescribed modulation pattern. The laser is sequentially stabilized in time with respect to at least two different wavelengths φ 1  and φ 2  for absolute measurement of the length L of a measuring section, the number Δn of the interferences traversing the detector counted during transition from a first to a second wavelength, and the absolute length L then being calculated as a function of phase measurements φ 1 , φ 2  for the two stabilized wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 . 
     The improvement comprises the step of performing the phase measurement in a resetting control loop that compensates the phases. 
     In a second aspect, the invention provides a device for absolute optical interferometric length measurement. Such device includes a four-beam interferometer in which a light beam emanating from a laser is split in a 2×2 coupler into two partial beams onto a reference channel and a measuring channel separate therefrom. 
     The two partial beams are each split in an integrated optical chip into two further partial beams that traverse a phase modulator that is integrated in the chip. 
     A processor is provided for applying different frequencies for the reference and measuring channels. A closed control loop is provided for measuring the phases of the reference and measuring channels by compensation at the phase modulators. A control circuit is provided for controlling the laser wavelengths (λ 1 , λ 2 ) and the output of such processor is applied to the control circuit. 
     The preceding and other features of this invention will become further apparent from the detailed description that follows. Such description is accompanied by a set of drawing figures. Numerals of the drawing figures, corresponding to those of the written description, point to the features of the invention with like numerals referring to like features throughout. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE-DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram of a multi-beam interferometer in accordance with the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a four-beam interferometer in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention in which a particularly effective separation is implemented between a measuring channel and a reference channel; 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an arrangement for three-beam interferometry for absolute length measurement in accordance with the prior art; and 
     FIG. 4 illustrates incremental three-beam interferometry in accordance with the prior art. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     An implementation of a method for optical interferometric absolute length measurement in accordance with the invention is explained below and illustrated by FIG.  1 . 
     The output beam of a laser  31  of high coherence length is guided by a fiber section to an integrated optics (IO) chip  32  where it is split into three partial beams whose phases can be modulated by means of electrodes  50  integrated in an IO chip  32  to generate a suitable signal. In such case, “high coherence length” refers to lengths up to one meter and, if appropriate, to 100 meters. The lower beam is reflected after traversing a reference section  34  (preferably of cerodur or steel due to their well-known low expansion coefficients). The middle beam is reflected directly at the IO chip  32  by a reflective layer  33 . 
     The reflected lower and middle beams interfere with one another and are sensed at a detector  37 , then amplified at  38  and digitized in an A/D converter  39 . The interference signal is evaluated in a processor  40  (generally implemented as an ASIC) to stabilize the wavelength of the laser  31  with respect to the reference section  34  by means of an analog processor  41  (also preferably implemented as an ASIC). 
     The phase of the lower or middle partial beam is modulated by the ASIC 40 by the phase modulator  50  in a known way, producing a modulated light intensity at the detector  37 . The signal is further processed in the ASIC 40 to compensate the phase at the phase modulator  50 . 
     The upper partial beam (measuring beam) is focused in parallel by a graded-index lens  35  and reflected at a measuring reflector  36  (at the object to be measured) to then interfere with the middle partial beam. The resulting interference pattern is detected by a second detector  42 , amplified by an amplifier  43  and digitized in a second A/D converter  44 . Corresponding modulation patterns are generated in the ASIC 40 by the phase modulator  50 . 
     Upon detecting the modulated light intensity at the second detector  42 , a control signal is activated in the ASIC 40, and the resulting phase is compensated by the phase modulator  50 . The required wavelength changes from λ 1  to λ 2  are controlled by the ASIC 40 via the analog ASIC 41 and the laser  31 . 
     The phase measurements for λ 1  and λ 2  are thus performed by a servo loop method for fiber optic gyros described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,741 and in European patent application 055 537, the teachings of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference. With the aid of such servo loop method, it is possible to achieve a phase resolution of 10 −7  λ that is independent of light intensity and distinguished by a broad measuring bandwidth. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the invention characterized by a particularly low outlay, and implemented as a four-beam interferometer with clear separation between the measuring and reference channels. The two interferometer sections are driven by a 2×2 coupler  46 . 
     In the block diagram illustration of FIG. 2, components or modules already discussed with reference to FIG.  1  and explained above are assigned like reference symbols, it being known to those skilled in the art that stabilization of the laser  31  with respect, for example, to two wavelengths λ 1  and λ 2  necessitates appropriate hardware and software changes in the ASIC 40 and/or the analog ASIC 41 that drives the laser  31 . By contrast to the design of FIG. 1, it is seen that only a single detector  42  is employed whose output signal is amplified in the amplifier  43  and undergoes an analog-to-digital conversion at  44 . The electronic system is equipped with only a single channel rather than the two channels of FIG.  1 . Present in addition, by contrast is the already-mentioned 2×2 coupler  46 , through which the light beam from the laser  31  is first split into two measuring beams or channels (i.e., an upper measuring channel and a lower reference channel). This produces a clearly simpler structure for the IO chip  32 , as may be seen from direct comparison of the arrangement according to FIG. 2 with that of FIG.  1 . 
     The reference channel with reference section  34  is of the same design (in principle) as that of FIG. 1. A similar situation pertains to the (upper) measuring channel, differing in that the reflective layer  33  on the IO chip  32  is only associated with the reference channel while a further reflective layer  45  is associated with the measuring channel on the IO chip  32 . The reflected beams of the reference and measuring channels interfere at the 2×2 coupler  46  and the resulting interference pattern is sensed at the detector  42 . The measuring and reference signals for wavelength stabilization can, in turn, be distinguished by different modulations. Due to such separation, the ASIC 40 can apply different frequencies to the modulations of the measuring and reference channels by the actions of the phase modulators  50  on the four channels. As a consequence, the signals can be detected at a single detector  42  and later separated. Just as in FIG. 1, the phases of the measuring and reference channels are measured by compensation at the phase modulators  50 , and the wavelengths λ 1  and λ 2  are controlled via the analog ASIC 41. 
     By comparison with known methods and arrangements for interferometric length measurement, the invention achieves clearly improved separation between a measuring channel and a reference channel. This occurs, even in the case of a single laser that is to be stabilized with respect to a plurality of frequencies, with an integrated optical chip of clearly simpler layout. Thus, improved measurement resolution and accuracy of are achieved through the use of the closed control loop. 
     The idea of the invention, which aims to increase the resolution and accuracy in absolute interferometric length measurement, is achieved, in particular, by consistent use of active integrated optics and measurement of the residual phases of wavelength values φ 1  and φ 2 , by compensating the phase in the integrated optics with a closed control loop. 
     The basis of the invention relies upon knowledge and experience, obtained in the field of fiber optic gyros, that it is possible to employ such phase compensation methods to determine wavelength differences of 10 −7  λ. Thus, resolution is raised substantially in comparison to known methods, even for absolute length measurement. 
     While the invention has been described with reference to its presently-preferred embodiment, it is not limited thereto. Rather, this invention is limited only insofar as it is defined by the following set of patent claims and includes within its scope all equivalents thereof.