Phase-shift-locked interferometer with a wavelength-modulated laser diode

A phase-shift-locked interferometer has been constructed for distance measurement. A phase shift produced by sawtooth-current modulation of a laser diode is locked to a phase difference preset by polarization optics that consists of a quarter-wave plate and polarizers through an electrical feedback technique. An optical path difference can be measured from the locked sawtooth-wave current amplitude in real time. The sensitivity of the interferometer is discussed.