抄録
Small vibration sensors with the laser interferometer have been developed. However, there are some disadvantages, for example, weakness to external vibration, difficulty in optical alignment, and so on. These disadvantages are improved by making use of a self-coupling effect of a semiconductor laser, because our sensor is composed of only a laser diode and a lens. When a small vibration, whose amplitude is less than half-wavelength of the laser, is measured, a reference signal is needed. The reference signal is generated by moving the sensor head quickly. And also an output signal is needed at maximum sensitivity. This output signal is generated by moving the sensor head slowly. The signal is controlled by a microcomputer. The vibration amplitude is evaluated from the ratio of the output signal to the reference one by the microcomputer. This sensor can detect a small vibration with minimum amplitude of about 10nm, and a small vibration is able to be measured irrespective of the frequency in the range between 500 Hz and 3000 Hz.
