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The schematic diagram of experimental system is shown in Fig. 1. ML is a microchip Nd:YVO4 laser light source pumped by two same LDs and ML outputs two parallel laser beams. Both laser beams are fundamental transverse modes and linearly polarized single longitudinal modes. The working wavelength of these two lasers is both 1064 nm. The measurement mirror ME is a light wedge covered with copper foil, and its front surface is the reflective surface. Acousto-optic modulators (AOM1 and AOM2 are YSGMN from SIPAT) are placed in the optical feedback path to realize the frequency shifting. The reference mirror MR is also a light wedge covered with copper foil. It is placed between the two acousto-optic modulators and ME to eliminate feedback environmental interference. L1 and L2 are two lenses used to focus the light beams (B1 and B2) on MR and ME respectively. The light beams (B1 and B2) are reference and measurement light. S is the solid material sample which is polished thin wafer. S is located between MR and ME, and it is controlled to rotate by an electric controlled rotation stage (MRS211 from Beijing Beiguang Century Instrument Co., Ltd.). The photodetector PD contains two PIN photodiodes.
Figure 1. System for measuring based on laser feedback interferometry. ML: Nd:YVO4 microchip laser; BS: Beam splitter; PD: Photodetector; AOM1 and AOM2: Acousto-optic modulators; L1 and L2: Lens; W: Wollaston prism. MR: Reference mirror; S: Material; ME: Measurement mirror
Two beams of light emitted by the light source ML pass through AOM1 and AOM2 and are divided into eight beams. The optical path for differential frequency shift of two acousto-optic modulators is shown in Fig. 2. The output laser beam ② and ⑥ which underwent -1-order diffraction and +1-order diffraction are respectively used as reference light and measurement light, and the frequency shift amount is Ω (Ω2−Ω1). MR and ME can be adjusted so that the feedback light can return to the laser cavity passing through AOM1 and AOM2, so the total frequency shift amount of B1 and B2 are both 2Ω. Among them, the measurement light B2 through the Wollaston prism W is divided into two beams (ordinary ray and extraordinary ray), and it can be chosen which beam as the measurement light according to the anisotropy of materials. The two feedback optical signals B1 and B2 after heterodyne modulation are respectively received by the two PIN photodiodes and converted into electrical signals. According to the rate equation model, the power modulation of the frequency shift laser feedback after the light returning to the laser is given by[14]
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of optical path for differential frequency shift of acousto-optic modulators. ①~⑧: Eight output laser beams
$$ \Delta I(2\varOmega )=\kappa G(2\varOmega )\mathrm{cos}\left[2\pi (2\varOmega )t-\varphi +{\varphi }_{s}\right] $$ (1) where ΔI is the intensity of laser B1 and B2 respectively, κ is feedback light strength factor, G is the gain amplification factor, which is related to the value of frequency shifting, ϕ is the external cavity phase (ϕm or ϕr), and ϕs is fixed phase. For the material with large internal absorption and low transmittance, the system is based on the high sensitivity characteristics of frequency shifting light feedback, so the reduction of the interference fringe contrast will not cause the measurement resolution to decrease.
According to the equation, the wave of intensity modulation curve is cosine, and the modulation frequency is the frequency shift of feedback light (2Ω). As the material is rotated by an electric controlled rotation stage, the phase changed by the optical path change. Δϕr is reference signal between ML and MR, and Δϕm is measurement signal between ML and ME. Δϕm − Δϕr is compensation for impact of environmental disturbances. In the experiment, the driving frequency of AOM1 and AOM2 are 70 MHz and 70.4 MHz respectively, the power modulation frequency (2Ω) of the reference light and the measurement light are both 800 kHz. The transparent surface is coated by the antireflecting film to prevent the laser from being reflected by the edge surface of the acousto-optic medium to form feedback.
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When electric rotation stage is controlled to rotate, the optical path changes in the material with rotating. As shown in Figure 3, when the angle between the normal line of the material surface and the light is θ, the optical distance L in the material is
$$L = \frac{{nd}}{{\cos i}} + {n_0}x - \frac{{{n_0}d}}{{\cos i}}\cos (q - i)$$ (2) where d is the thickness of material, n denotes the refractive index to be measured, i denotes the refraction angle in the material, n0 denotes the air refractive index, and x is geometric length from optical position incident on the material to the measurement mirror. According to Snell equation [15]
$$ {n}_{0}\mathrm{sin}\theta =n\mathrm{sin}i $$ (3) derive as
$$L{\kern 1pt} = {n_0}x - {n_0}d\cos \theta + d\sqrt {{n^2} - {n_0}^2{{\sin }^2}\theta } $$ (4) Assuming that the angle between the surface normal of material and the beam before rotation is θ0, and the angle after rotation is θ, the optical path change ΔL is
$$ \begin{split} \Delta L =&\dfrac{\lambda }{{2\pi {n_{\rm{0}}}}}(\Delta {\phi _m} - \Delta {\phi _r}) =\Bigg[\sqrt {{n^{\rm{2}}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}^{\rm{2}}{{\sin }^{\rm{2}}}\theta } - {n_{\rm{0}}}\cos \theta - \\ & \sqrt {{n^{\rm{2}}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}^{\rm{2}}{{\sin }^{\rm{2}}}{\theta _{\rm{0}}}} + {n_{\rm{0}}}\cos {\theta _{\rm{0}}}\Bigg]{\kern 1pt} {\kern 1pt} \\ \end{split} $$ (5) where the optical path change Δϕr of reference signal comes from the air disturbance between ML and MR and the thermal effect of the acousto-optic modulators, and the optical path change Δϕm of the measurement signal comes from the air disturbance between ML and ME, thermal effect and the optical path change. When the material is rotated, θ and ΔL selected at multiple angles are substituted into equation (5) to solve this over-determined equation expressed by equation (6). It excludes the effect of thickness measurement uncertainty on refractive index accuracy.
$$\left. \begin{gathered} \Delta {L_1} = d\left[\sqrt {{n^{\rm{2}}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}^{\rm{2}}{{\sin }^{\rm{2}}}{\theta _1}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}\cos {\theta _1} - \sqrt {{n^{\rm{2}}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}^{\rm{2}}{{\sin }^{\rm{2}}}{\theta _{\rm{0}}}} + {n_{\rm{0}}}\cos {\theta _{\rm{0}}}\right]{\kern 1pt} {\kern 1pt} \\ \Delta {L_2} = d\left[\sqrt {{n^{\rm{2}}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}^{\rm{2}}{{\sin }^{\rm{2}}}{\theta _2}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}\cos {\theta _2} - \sqrt {{n^{\rm{2}}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}^{\rm{2}}{{\sin }^{\rm{2}}}{\theta _{\rm{0}}}} + {n_{\rm{0}}}\cos {\theta _{\rm{0}}}\right]{\kern 1pt} {\kern 1pt} \\ \Delta {L_3} = d\left[\sqrt {{n^{\rm{2}}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}^{\rm{2}}{{\sin }^{\rm{2}}}{\theta _3}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}\cos {\theta _3} - \sqrt {{n^{\rm{2}}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}^{\rm{2}}{{\sin }^{\rm{2}}}{\theta _{\rm{0}}}} + {n_{\rm{0}}}\cos {\theta _{\rm{0}}}\right]{\kern 1pt} {\kern 1pt} \\ {\rm{ }} \vdots \\ \Delta {L_x} = d\left[\sqrt {{n^{\rm{2}}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}^{\rm{2}}{{\sin }^{\rm{2}}}{\theta _x}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}\cos {\theta _x} - \sqrt {{n^{\rm{2}}} - {n_{\rm{0}}}^{\rm{2}}{{\sin }^{\rm{2}}}{\theta _{\rm{0}}}} + {n_{\rm{0}}}\cos {\theta _{\rm{0}}}\right]{\kern 1pt} {\kern 1pt} \\ \end{gathered} \right\} \Rightarrow n,d$$ (6) In the experiment, the material S is polished thin wafer which is Sapphire Crystal or GaAs. Because sapphire is an anisotropic uniaxial crystal, it has two refractive indices. Choose ordinary ray of W as the measurement light B2. The thickness of Sapphire Crystal and GaAs are 0.302 mm and 0.686 mm respectively measured by a micrometer. The air sensor is used to detect the air in the experiment. The indoor temperature of Sapphire Crystal is 23.34 ℃, the air pressure is 101.93 kPa, the relative humidity is 18.5%, and the air refractive index n0 is calculated as 1.0002678 by the modified Edlén equation[16]. For GaAs, they are 23.60 ℃, 101.89 kPa, 16.5%, and 1.0002675. Considering the transmittance of the materials and reducing the measurement uncertainty requirement, decide that Sapphire Crystal is rotated from 0° to 30° with pausing every two degrees, and GaAs from 0° to 20° with pausing every angle. The optical path difference of rotating material at each angle is measured 20 times within 20 seconds. The average optical path difference is shown in Table 1 and Table 2.
Table 1. The average optical path difference in Sapphire Crystal with angle
Rotation angle/(°) Optical path change/nm Rotation angle/(°) Optical path change/nm 1 145 11 8924 2 354 12 10693 3 689 13 12594 4 1186 14 14502 5 1827 15 16679 6 2598 16 19042 7 3558 17 21524 8 4674 18 24134 9 6015 19 26870 10 7482 20 30037 Table 2. The average optical path difference in GaAs with angle
Rotation angle/(°) Optical path change/nm Rotation angle/(°) Optical path change/nm 2 69 18 6550 4 270 20 8047 6 700 22 9811 8 1275 24 11703 10 2036 26 13771 12 2896 28 16006 14 3937 30 18365 16 5158 Substitute the experiment data in Table 1 and Table 2 and n0 into equation (5) by fitting refractive index and thickness. The theoretical curve and experimental data points are drawn in Fig. 4(a). It is shown that, consistent with the experimental data, the solution of the Sapphire Crystal n is 1.7551, d is 0.3017 mm, the GaAs n is 3.4653, and d is 0.6862 mm. The difference between theoretical fit data and experimental data of optical path change at every angle is presented in Fig. 4(b), and the difference range is from −80-80 nm.
Figure 4. (a) Theoretical and experimental data of optical path change of two materials with angle of rotation; (b) Difference between theoretical fit data and experimental data
There are five times of the measurement of Sapphire Crystal and GaAs, and the measurement results are presented in Table 3. Calculate the measurement average value (refractive index and thickness) and type A evaluation of uncertainty[17](that is, the standard deviation calculated by the Bessel equation[18]). From Table 3, the refractive index of Sapphire Crystal is 1.7550±0.0005. The reference value is based on the value calculated by Sellmeier equation[2], which is 1.7545, so the deviation of the experimental data with the reference data is 0.0005. The measurement accuracy of Sapphire Crystal reaches 10−4 and the material does not need to be processed into prismatic shape. However, the accuracy of ellipsometry method and m-lines method are 10−2 and 10−3 respectively, and the common reflective gem refractometer is 10−3. The refractive index of GaAs is 3.4719±0.0039. The reference refractive index value is 3.4727 which is calculated by Sellmeier equation[19], so the deviation of the experimental data with the reference data is 0.0008. The measurement accuracy range of GaAs is between 10−3-10−4. However, the ellipsometry method accuracy is 10−2 and GaAs is beyond the measurement range of Abbé refractometer. From Table 3, the thickness of Sapphire Crystal is (0.3022±0.0004) mm, and the thickness measured by micrometer is (0.302±0.001) mm. The thickness of GaAs is (0.6861±0.0001) mm, and the thickness measured by micrometer is (0.686±0.001) mm. Therefore, the results are satisfactory and the accuracy has been improved.
Table 3. Measurement results
Number Sapphire Crystal GaAs n d/mm n d/mm 1 1.7553 0.3028 3.4653 0.6862 2 1.7551 0.3026 3.4759 0.6861 3 1.7539 0.3019 3.4739 0.6860 4 1.7554 0.3018 3.4696 0.6859 5 1.7551 0.3017 3.4749 0.6861 There are several reasons for refractive index measurement error Δn. First of all, the material composition, processing technology and surface morphology are the main reasons for the measurement error Δn. Among them, the main component of Sapphire Crystal is Al2O3, which contains the trace elements titanium (Ti4+) or iron (Fe2+), and different doping concentrations lead to different refraction effects. Due to the different crystal growth process, the melting temperature, the number of pulling times and other steps are also different. However, the temperature, pulling number and other steps will affect refraction results. Secondly, both materials are polished wafers, so the parallelism, roughness and uniformity of their surfaces will affect the measurement accuracy and the corresponding Δn cannot be accurately calculated. In addition, the air refractive index and the laser wavelength will vary with the ambient temperature. In a normal laboratory environment, the refractive index of air changes less than 10−5, and Δn is less than 7×10−6. The frequency-stabilized microchip laser has the wavelength drift Δλ less than 2.6×10−4 nm, and Δn is only 1.94×10−7. Finally, GaAs is a semiconductor material, and refractive index of semiconductor material is complex number because its conductivity is not zero. This article is measuring the real part of the complex refractive index. However, when light is incident on the GaAs sheet obliquely at a certain angle, the extinction coefficient of the semiconductor material (that is, the imaginary part of the complex refractive index) will affect the real part, thereby affecting the measurement data of refractive index.
Improving the measurement accuracy of refractive index of GaAs and Sapphire Crystal by laser feedback interferometry
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摘要: 砷化镓和蓝宝石晶体已经广泛应用于红外领域、光电领域和军事设备,因此两种材料的折射率测量对光学设计、计量检测和工业应用具有重要意义。为提高两种材料折射率的测量精度,采用微片激光回馈干涉技术同时测量折射率和厚度。此系统结合外差调制和准公共路径对空气气流和振动进行补偿,因此具有高灵敏度、高精度和高稳定性的特点,特别是同时测量性以及仅需将样品加工成薄片状而非棱柱形。实验结果表明,砷化镓和蓝宝石晶体(在寻常光下)的折射率测量精度提高到10−3和10−4,且厚度的精度均为10−4 mm。
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关键词:
- GaAs /
- Sapphire Crystal /
- feedback interferometry /
- refractive index /
- accuracy
Abstract: GaAs and Sapphire Crystal has been widely used in infrared region, optoelectronics field and military equipment, so the measurement of refractive index of two materials is of great significance to optical design, metrological inspection and industrial application. To improve the measurement accuracy of refractive index of two materials, microchip laser feedback interferometer technology was used to simultaneously measure refractive index and thickness. The system combined heterodyne modulation and quasi-common path to compensate for airflow and vibration, so it has the characteristics of high sensitivity, high precision and high stability, especially the simultaneous measurement and only the material needs to be processed into flake rather than prism shape. The experimental results demonstrate that the measurement accuracy of refractive index of GaAs and Sapphire Crystal (under ordinary light) has been enhanced to 10−3 and 10−4 respectively and thickness is 10−4 mm.-
Key words:
- GaAs /
- Sapphire Crystal /
- feedback interferometry /
- refractive index /
- accuracy
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Table 1. The average optical path difference in Sapphire Crystal with angle
Rotation angle/(°) Optical path change/nm Rotation angle/(°) Optical path change/nm 1 145 11 8924 2 354 12 10693 3 689 13 12594 4 1186 14 14502 5 1827 15 16679 6 2598 16 19042 7 3558 17 21524 8 4674 18 24134 9 6015 19 26870 10 7482 20 30037 Table 2. The average optical path difference in GaAs with angle
Rotation angle/(°) Optical path change/nm Rotation angle/(°) Optical path change/nm 2 69 18 6550 4 270 20 8047 6 700 22 9811 8 1275 24 11703 10 2036 26 13771 12 2896 28 16006 14 3937 30 18365 16 5158 Table 3. Measurement results
Number Sapphire Crystal GaAs n d/mm n d/mm 1 1.7553 0.3028 3.4653 0.6862 2 1.7551 0.3026 3.4759 0.6861 3 1.7539 0.3019 3.4739 0.6860 4 1.7554 0.3018 3.4696 0.6859 5 1.7551 0.3017 3.4749 0.6861 -
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