Validation of separated source frequency delivery for a fiber-coupled heterodyne displacement interferometer

The use of optical fibers presents several advantages with respect to free-space optical transport regarding sourcefrequency delivery to individual heterodyne interferometers. Unfortunately, fiber delivery to individual coaxial heterodyne interferometers leads to an increase of (periodic) nonlinearity in the measurement, because transporting...

Heterodyne displacement interferometer, insensitive for input polarization

Periodic nonlinearity (PNL) in displacement interferometers is a systematic error source that limits measurement accuracy. The PNL of coaxial heterodyne interferometers is highly influenced by the polarization state and orientation of the source frequencies. In this Letter, we investigate this error source and discuss two interferometer designs,...

Fiber-coupled displacement interferometry without periodic nonlinearity

Displacement interferometry is widely used for accurately characterizing nanometer and subnanometer displacements in many applications. In many modern systems, fiber delivery is desired to limit optical alignment and remove heat sources from the system, but fiber delivery can exacerbate common interferometric measurement problems, such as...

Balanced interferometric system for stability measurements

We describe two different, double-sided interferometer designs for measuring material stability. Both designs are balanced interferometers where the only optical path difference is the sample and the reference beams are located within the interferometer. One interferometer is a double-pass design, whereas the other is a single-pass system. Based...

Simple heterodyne laser interferometer with subnanometer periodic errors

We describe a simple heterodyne laser interferometer that has subnanometer periodic errors and is applicable to industrial fields. Two spatially separated beams can reduce the periodic errors, and the use of a right-angle prism makes the optical configuration much simpler than previous interferometers. Moreover, the optical resolution can be...

Compensation and optimization of dispersion in nulling interferometry

The optical properties of materials are wavelength-dependent. This property, called dispersion, affects the performance of a wide-band nulling interferometer by inducing wavelength-dependent phase differences between the arms of the interferometer. In this paper, we analyze the influence of dispersion in nulling interferometers for exoplanet...

The role of amplitude, phase, polarization and their interconnection in nulling interferometry

Nulling interferometry is a promising technique to directly detect Earth-like exoplanets. Unfortunately, it is extremely challenging to build a nulling interferometer and to meet the requirements needed for Earth-like planet detection. In this, thesis, we analyze the role of amplitude, phase and polarization in nulling interferometry and we use...

Vectorial analysis of polarization issues in multi-axial nulling interferometers for exoplanet detection

We show the theoretical limitations of a multi-axial nulling interferometer with respect to longitudinal polarization. We furthermore analyze the filtering capabilities of a single-mode fiber in this case.

Design of a polarization nulling interferometer for exoplanet detection

We present the design of a new testbed experiment to demonstrate nulling interferometry using polarization properties. This three-beam set-up is perfectly symmetric with respect to the number of reflections and transmissions and should therefore allow a high rejection ratio in a wide spectral band.

Nulling interferometry for exoplanet detection using polarization properties

We present a new type of nulling interferometer that makes use of polarization properties to have on-axis destructive interference. The proposed design, which only involves commercial components and no achromatic device, is also suitable for internal modulation. This type of interferometer should enable a high rejection ratio in a theoretically...

Nulling interferometry without achromatic phase shifters: Latest results

We discuss the previously-reported measurements of a three-beam nulling interferometer without achromatic phase-shifters, using delay lines only. The theoretical rejection ratio of a few thousand has not been achieved experimentally. In order to explain the obtained results, some direct spectral and polarization measurements have been performed....

Polarization nulling interferometry for exoplanet detection

We introduce a new concept of nulling interferometer without any achromatic device, using polarization properties of light. This type of interferometer should enable a high rejection ratio in a theoretically unlimited spectral band. We analyze several consequences of the proposed design, notably, the possibility of fast internal modulation.

Chromatism compensation in wide-band nulling interferometry for exoplanet detection

We introduce the concept of chromatism compensation in nulling interferometry that enables a high rejection ratio in a wide spectral band. Therefore the achromaticity condition considered in most nulling interferometers can be relaxed. We show that this chromatism compensation cannot be applied to a two-beam nulling interferometer, and we make...