Dual-frequency Doppler velocimeter based on delay interferometric optical phase-locking

Abstract

We present a dual-frequency laser Doppler velocimeter (DF-LDV) relying on a DF laser source (DFLS) generated by optical phase-locking two individual lasers to a common unbalanced Mach–Zehnder interferometer, which allows achieving high stability regardless of the DF separation of the lasers. This DFLS is evaluated using an optical frequency comb, testifying to the generation of DFLS with large DF separation up to terahertz with flexible tunability and high stability. Demonstration of DF-LDV using the DFLS of ∼ 1.024 T H z separation has achieved 1.62 × 10 − 2 mm/s velocity resolution even for a slow velocity of 1.8 m m / s in a mere 5 s acquisition time, confirming the high resolution and efficient speckle noise suppression enabled by the proposed DF-LDV. Featuring high precision, flexibility, and robustness, this method is particularly attractive from the practical point of view.

A Variable Carrier Generation for Heterodyne LDV with an Optical Phase-locked Loop

“…Julien Le Gouët et al use an EOM to increase the OPLL bandwidth, but the employment of the EOM and related components increases the cost of the system as well [17]. Yuxiang Feng et al achieve a dual-frequency laser Doppler velocimeter via OPLL [18]. Most of the work focuses on the fixed carrier, and their bandwidth is limited by the loop delay or other restrictions of the optic and electronic components.…”