Nanometer vibrations measured using a semiconductor laser on quantum-confined structures operating in an autodyne regime

A method for the quantitative monitoring of nanometer vibrations has been developed based on the autodyne detection effect in a semiconductor laser. It is shown that the semiconductor laser autodyne can be used for measuring the amplitudes of vibrations in a range from one nanometer to 10 μm in a frequency band from a few hertz to several hundred megahertz. With the aid of a lock-in amplifier, the lower threshold of measured vibration amplitudes has been reduced to one ångström.