A PC-controlled nonincremental distance meter based on a comb-spectrum combined with a frequency-modulated continuous wave interferometer

In this paper, a PC-controlled nonincremental interferometer that integrates frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) and dispersive comb spectrum (DCS) techniques is presented. This system takes advantage of the wide measuring range of the FMCW technique and of the high resolution of the DCS technique. The system prototype presented in this paper performs measurements over a range of 30 mm with an accuracy of about 600 nm. The proposed combined interferometer is expected to also have applications in biomedical frameworks.