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External-cavity birefringence feedback effects of the microchip Nd: YAG laser are presented. When a birefringence element is placed in the external feedback cavity of the laser, two orthogonally polarized laser beams with a phase difference are output. The phase difference is twice as large as the phase retardation in the external cavity along the two orthogonal directions. The variable extra-cavity birefringence, caused by rotation of the external-cavity birefringence element, results in tunable phase difference between the two orthogonally polarized beams. This means that the roll angle information has been translated to phase difference of two output laser beams. A theoretical analysis based on the Fabry–Perot cavity equivalent model and refractive index ellipsoid is presented, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. This phenomenon has potential applications for roll angle measurement.

This paper presents the anisotropic optical feedback of a single frequency intra-cavity He–Ne laser. A novel phenomenon was discovered that the laser output an elliptical polarized frequency instead of the initial linear polarized one. Two intensities with a phase difference were detected, both of which were modulated in the form of cosine wave and a fringe shift corresponds to a λ/2 movement of the feedback mirror. The phase difference can be continuously modulated by the wave plate in the external cavity. Frequency stabilization was used to stabilize the laser frequency so as to enlarge the measuring range and improve the measurement precision. This anisotropic optical feedback system offers a potential displacement measurement technology with the function of subdivision of λ/2 and in-time direction judgment. The three-mirror Fabry–Perot cavity model is used to present the experimental results. Given the lack of need of lasing adjustment, this full intra-cavity laser can significantly improve the simplicity and stability of the optical feedback system.

We present a microchip laser feedback interferometer with an optical path multiplier to enhance the resolution of traditional laser feedback interferometers (LFI). The optical path multiplier has a unique device, i.e. diffusive reflector. As class B microchip lasers have extremely high sensitivity to laser feedback, the diffusive reflector can easily reflect or diffuse back the laser beam without much manual adjustment to the optical system, which ensures the system's easy-adjustment and practical feature. The optical path multiplier is a two-mirror system which enables the laser beam to reflect between the two mirrors by N times. When the target shifts a distance of Δd, the variation of the optical path will be about (AN × Δd). Thus the system's resolution is about 4N times as high as the traditional LFI. Under typical room conditions, the optical path multiplier can effectively enhance the system's resolution by more than 26 times as high as a traditional LFI system and even to the level of 0.1 nm.

The orthogonally linearly polarized dual frequency Nd:YAG lasers with two quarter wave plates in laser resonator are proposed. The intra-cavity variable birefringence, which is caused by relative rotation of these two wave plates in laser inner cavity, results in the frequency difference of the dual frequency laser also changeable. The theory model based on the Jones matrix is presented, as well as experimental results. The potential application of this phenomenon in precision roll-angle measurement is also discussed.

We investigate the characteristics of intensity tuning in a single mode microchip Nd:YAG laser with an external cavity. The undulation of laser intensity in a period of λ/2 change of the internal cavity length is observed. Two different optical feedback cases are performed. One is an external cavity reflector perfectly aligned and the other is an external cavity reflector tilted. However, the fluctuation frequency of laser intensity in a period of λ/2 change of the internal cavity length in these two cases is found to be determined by the ratio of external cavity length to internal cavity length. Meanwhile, for the tilted external cavity, the fluctuation frequency is also related to multiple feedbacks in the tilted external cavity.

The mode hopping phenomenon induced by optical feedback in single-mode microchip Nd:YAG lasers is presented. With optical feedback, mode hopping strongly depends on two factors: the ratio of external cavity length to intra-cavity length, and initial gains of the two hopping modes. When external cavity length equals an integral multiple of intra-cavity length, there is almost no mode hopping. However, if the external cavity length does not equal an integral multiple of intra-cavity length, mode hopping occurs. The ratio of external cavity length to intra-cavity length determines the position of two-mode hopping. The initial gains of the two hopping modes determine the corresponding peak values and oscillating periods of them in the intensity modulation curves.

Wavelength 1064 nm is one of the most widely used laser wavelengths in industries and science. The high-precision measurement of the refractive index of optical materials at 1064 nm is significant for improving the optical design. We study the direct measurement of refractive index at 1064 nm of lasers, including calcium fluoride (CaF2), fused silica and zinc selenide (ZnSe), whose refractive indices cover a large range from 1.42847 to 2.48272. The measurement system is built based on the quasi-common-path Nd:YAG laser feedback interferometry. The thickness can be measured simultaneously with the refractive index. The results demonstrate that the system has absolute uncertainties of ~10−5 and ~10−4 mm in refractive index and thickness measurement, respectively.

Microchip laser can output two orthogonal frequency splitting modes due to its own internal residual stress. In this paper it is found that the frequency difference of microchip laser is modulated by laser feedback. The modulation is a sinusoid-like curve whose center is the original frequency difference and period is half-wavelength. The amplitude of the modulation curve is proportional to feedback level. But when the feedback is too strong, so that the polarization switching occurs and only one polarization exists sometimes. In a range of external cavity, the amplitude of the modulation curve is also proportional to original frequency difference. The theoretical analysis and simulation based on the composite laser cavity theory and self-consistent theory are in good agreement with the experimental results. The potential applications of this phenomenon in precision measurement are discussed.

We present a novel scheme to realize the direct real-time measurement of liquid evaporation rate and nanometer order liquid level monitoring. It is based on the phase measurement technology of Nd:YAG microchip laser frequency-shifted feedback, which not only has a high resolution and precision but also ultrahigh sensitivity. The evaporation rates of four different transparent liquids and hot water are measured. Experimental results indicate the ease and convenience of measuring and present promising application prospects in non-cooperative target measurement.

The influence of feedback level (or the amplitude of feedback light) on laser polarization in polarized optical feedback is investigated. A polarizer is placed in the feedback cavity to form the polarized feedback, and an attenuator is placed in the feedback cavity to tune the feedback level. The laser intensity and polarization vary dramatically at different transmissivities of the attenuator. According to the experimental phenomenon, the range of the attenuator transmissivity is divided into three zones: the flipping zone, monostable zone, and bistable zone. In the monostable zone, the laser polarization is always perpendicular to the axis of the polarizer in the feedback cavity. This may provide an effective way to choose or control laser polarization. A theoretical model based on the self-consistency of laser oscillation is presented to analyze the experimental results.

The birefringence optical feedback with a folded cavity in HeNe laser is investigated. A theory model based on the equivalent cavity of the Fabry?Perot interferometer is presented. The phase difference between the two intensities in birefringence feedback is twice the retardation of the wave plate. The phase difference is invariable when the length of the feedback cavity changes. With the adoption of a cube corner prism (CCP) to form a folded cavity, the fringe frequency is doubled, and the resolution of the displacement sensor based on birefringence optical feedback with a folded cavity is improved. A resistance chain of 5-fold subdivision and 4-fold logic subdivision is used as further subdivision. The resolution of ?/80 is obtained eventually; for 632.8 nm HeNe laser it is 7.91 nm. The displacement sensor based on birefringence optical feedback with a folded cavity is simple and of high resolution, large measurement range, low cost, and is of great application potential in industry.

The phase tuning characteristics of a double-longitudinal-mode He-Ne laser with optical feedback are demonstrated. The phase behaviors of the two adjacent longitudinal modes are studied with different laser cavity lengths at the weak feedback level, and it is found that the phase difference of the two modes can be 0 to 180° along with the changing of the length of external cavity. The high-density intensity fringes are obtained with asymmetric feedback cavity at a strong feedback level. In particular, the phase difference is also observed between the two high-density fringes of adjacent modes, which have the potential to develop a direction sensitive laser feedback interferometer with high resolution. A simple theoretical analysis is presented, which fits well with the experimental results.

This paper proposes a theoretical analysis for the characteristics of an external cavity Nd:YAG laser with feedback of multiple-beam interference, which is induced by the multi-reentrance of the light from the external Fabry–Perot cavity. The theoretical model considers the multiple beam interference of the external Fabry–Perot cavity. It is found that the optical feedback signals are distorted to pulse waveforms instead of the sinusoidal ones in conventional feedback. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis. The obtained theoretical and experimental results can advance the development of a laser feedback interferometer.

This paper demonstrates the influence of external optical feedback on the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic microchip Nd:YAG lasers. Under optical feedback, the polarization state of longitudinal modes in quasi-isotropic lasers relies strongly on the intracavity anisotropy loss and mode competition. When the intracavity anisotropy loss is small, external optical feedback can cause polarization switching and strong mode competition between two orthogonal linearly polarized eigenstates of one laser longitudinal mode, which leads to the distortion of laser intensity modulation waveform. The polarization switching is independent of the initial external cavity length. By increasing the intracavity anisotropy loss, one polarization eigenstate can be suppressed and the laser works in single-polarization state. A theoretical analysis based on the compound cavity model is presented, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The results offer guidance to the development of laser feedback interferometers.

External anisotropic feedback effects on the phase difference behaviour of output intensities in a microchip Nd:YAG laser are presented. By rotating a quarter wave plate placed in the external cavity, the angle between laser initial polarization direction and o-axis of the wave plate is tuned from -45° to 45°, which results in variable extra-cavity birefringence along two orthogonal detection directions. With only one optical path and one wave plate, laser intensities of the two orthogonal directions, both modulated by the external cavity length, are output with a tunable phase difference, which can be continuously changed from zero to twice as large as that of the waveplate. Experimental results as well as a theoretical analysis based on Fabry–Perot cavity equivalent model and the refractive index ellipsoid, are presented. The potential applications of this phenomenon are also discussed.

Optical feedback characteristics of frequency modulated microchip Nd：YAG lasers are investigated. Without optical feedback，the output intensity changes by one fringe with the laser frequency changing by one longitudinal mode spacing. With optical feedback，the modulation frequency of output intensity is proportional to the ratio of external cavity length to internal cavity length. The theoretical analysis based on three-cavity-mirror equivalent model is in good agreement with experimental results. The potential applications of this phenomenon in precision measurement are also discussed.