Heterodyne Standing-Wave Interferometer with Improved Phase Stability

This paper describes a standing-wave interferometer with two laser sources of different wavelengths, diametrically opposed and emitting towards each other. The resulting standing wave has an intensity profile which is moving with a constant velocity, and is directly detected inside the laser beam by two thin and transparent photo sensors. The first sensor is at a fixed position, serving as a phase reference for the second one which is moved along the optical axis, resulting in a frequency shift, proportional to the velocity. The phase difference between both sensors is evaluated for the purpose of interferometric length measurements.