Abstract
Periodic error is a main error source that limits the measurement accuracy in heterodyne laser interferometry. An external cavity diode laser (ECDL) based Fabry-Perot (F-P) interferometer referenced to an optical frequency comb (OFC) is proposed to characterize the periodic error in heterodyne interferometers. The Pound-Drever-Hall locking technique is employed to lock the tracking ECDL frequency to the resonance of a high finesse F-P cavity. The frequency of a reference ECDL is locked to a selected mode of an OFC to generate a stable single optical frequency. The frequency change of the tracking ECDL induced by the cavity displacement is measured by beating with the reference ECDL locked to the OFC. Experiments show that the F-P interferometer system has a displacement resolution of 1.96 pm. We compared the measurement results of our system with a commercial plane mirror heterodyne interferometer. The period if the periodic error is about half wavelength, with an error amplitude of 4.8 nm.
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