Numerical study of comb-based high-accuracy distance measurement utilizing VIPA interferometry

The ultrahigh-precision distance measurement based on a single laser frequency comb as the multi-wavelength source, together with an ultra-high-resolution dispersive spectrometer utilizing a virtually imaged phase array, was studied numerically. The simulations provide the component parameter optimization and the comb spectral images on a charged-coupled device camera. An ameliorated scheme was proposed through achieving real-time comparisons between the reference and interference signals captured on a camera simultaneously to improve both the measurement accuracy and the precision significantly. With the optimized data processing, the proposed approach is especially suitable for serving as a ultra-high precision relative distance measurement, and the measurement resolution can reach the picometer scale in optimal cases. (paper)