A novel active optical approach for acceleration measurement based on a Y-shaped cavity dual-frequency laser

作者：Xiao, Guangzong^*; Long, Xingwu; Zhang, Bin; Jin, Shilong

来源：Optics and Laser Technology, 2012, 44(2): 344-348.

DOI：10.1016/j.optlastec.2011.07.012

• Laser sensor
• Acceleration measurement
• Y-shaped cavity dual-frequency laser

A novel active optical approach for acceleration measurement based on a Y-shaped cavity dual-frequency laser is presented and demonstrated. Applied acceleration causes a change in the refractivity of sensing gas in one of the two cavities, resulting in a beat frequency variation between two orthogonal polarized lights. As a result, this approach produces a modulation of beat frequency strictly proportional to the input acceleration. Preliminary experiments with a 632.8 nm Y-shaped cavity He-Ne dual-frequency laser confirm the validity of the laser sensor. The experimental results show that the laser sensor in this approach characterizes a nearly linear response to the input acceleration, which is a projection of gravitational acceleration. The experimental values of the scale factors are mostly in good agreement with theoretical ones. By optimizing the optical and geometrical parameters of the laser sensor, an acceleration measurement resolution of 10(-5)-10(-6) gravitational acceleration (within +/- 5 g measurement range) could be expected. Furthermore, we investigate the principle about the sign of the scale factor in detail, and propose a simple but efficient method to distinguish the direction of the acceleration acted on the laser sensor.

• 出版日期2012-3
• 单位中国人民解放军国防科学技术大学