An evaluation of a modulated laser encoder

This paper introduces a new method of interpolation for sub-nanometer-resolution linear encoders. This method, called SPPE (scanning position probe encoder), uses high-order harmonics information obtained by a sinusoidal scanning pickup located on a periodic grating surface. The proposed encoder uses a current-modulated laser diode with diffractive grating optics. Since the electrical current changes the laser-diode wavelength, the interference light intensity is modulated as a sinusoidal scanning pickup on the scale grating. Phase-detection circuits can decode the position information in the pickup signal by using phase-locked loop techniques. The decoder achieves an interpolation rate of over 1/40,000 with interpolation errors of less than ±1 nm. A new interpolation-error measuring system was developed for the encoder. Finally, the evaluation results reveal that the presented encoder shows both high resolution and strong robustness.