title: Optical encoder based on a nondiffractive beam.
abstract: Optical encoders are used in industrial and laboratory motion equipment to measure rotations and linear displacements. We introduce a design of an optical encoder based on a nondiffractive beam. We expect that the invariant profile and radial symmetry of the nondiffractive beam provide the design with remarkable tolerance to mechanical perturbations. We experimentally demonstrate that the proposed design generates a suitable output sinusoidal signal with low harmonic distortion. Moreover, we present a numerical model of the system based on the angular spectrum approximation whose predictions are in excellent agreement with the experimental results.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Aplicaciones Opticas, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Buenos Aires,Avenue Paseo Colón 850, C1063ACU Buenos Aires, Argentina. alutenb@fi.uba.ar
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lutenberg
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perez-Quintián
authors.forename: María A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rebollo