Dove prism heterodyne refractometer

•A Dove prism and a circular heterodyne interferometer integrated a novel refractometer.•High stability and lower phase error can be obtained.•Refractive index error is approximated of 0.00002.

In this study, we proposed an alternative method, integrating a Dove prism and precision circular heterodyne interferometry, for measuring the refractive index and concentration of sodium chloride and hydrogen peroxide solutions with low phase error. Due to the optical properties of the Dove prism, the test light undergoes total internal reflection (TIR) at the interface between the test sample and the prism. The light beam travels in and out of the Dove prism while maintaining the same direction. Therefore, only slight alignment is required, leading to only small errors in the phase and refractive index. In this study, the phase error, refractive index error, and resolution of the concentration are approximated to be 0.003°, 2×10−5, and 1×10−3 M, respectively. The proposed method has the advantages of a simple optical configuration, ease of operation, little alignment required, and high stability, and it allows for high-precision measurement of the refractive index and concentration of the liquid sample.