Fiber-end interferometric sensor using cooperative retroreflectors

Abstract

The well-known fiber Doppler velocimeter is examined as a high-resolution sensor of small displacements. The system is greatly improved through the use of thin-film retroreflective elements on the moving object. Range and sensitivity are increased, and problems in obtaining optical alignment become trivial. The interferometer is used here to study the flight dynamics of an electromagnetic actuator, although the fiber-retroreflector combination constitutes a more general sensor coupling arrangement. © 1983 Optical Society of America.