title: Phase-sensitive swept-source interferometry for absolute ranging with application to measurements of group refractive index and thickness.
abstract: Interferometric range measurements using a wavelength-tunable source form the basis of several measurement techniques, including optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR), swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), and frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) lidar. We present a phase-sensitive and self-referenced approach to swept-source interferometry that yields absolute range measurements with axial precision three orders of magnitude better than the transform-limited axial resolution of the system. As an example application, we implement the proposed method for a simultaneous measurement of group refractive index and thickness of an optical glass sample.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA. eric@chiarotech.com
authors.forename: Eric D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Robert R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: McLeod
mesh_terms: D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007368:Interferometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*