Investigation of heterodyne interferometer technique for dynamic angle measurement: error analysis and performance evaluation

Angle measurement based on heterodyne interferometer has been attracted much research interest and applied in various fields ranging from scientific research to practical engineering. However, a systematic research on the typical heterodyne angular interferometer has not been presented before. This paper mainly focused on the error analysis of the heterodyne angular interferometer and its dynamic measurement performance. The influence of error factors originating from optical configuration, mechanical installation and environmental fluctuations on measurement accuracy is analyzed. Furthermore, the performance of the angle interferometer in measuring dynamic angle, especially for high-frequency angular vibration, is evaluated by using a high-frequency angular vibration system and an interferometric fiber optic gyroscope. Finally, the measurement capability and uncertainty of this angle interferometer are also discussed.