USOO8416424B2

(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 8.416,424 B2

Werner et al. (45) Date of Patent: Apr. 9, 2013

(54) LASERSELF-MIXING MEASURING DEVICE 5,638,211 A * 6/1997 Shiraishi ....................... 359,559

5,648,658 A * 7/1997 Holzapfel et al. ........ 250,237 G
(75) Inventors: Klaus Peter Werner, Wijchen (NL); 6,233,045 B1 5, 2001 Suni t
Carsten Heinks, Nordhorn (DE); 6,246,482 B1* 6/2001 Kinrot et al. .................. 356,499
Marcel Franz Christian Schemmann,
Maria Hoop (NL) (Continued)
(73) Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
Eindhoven (NL) EP O947833 A1 10, 1999
GB 2443.662 * 9/2006
(*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this GB 2443662 A 5, 2008
patent is extended or adjusted under 35 WO 2005076116 A2 8, 2005
U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
(21) Appl. No.: 13/001,838 OTHER PUBLICATIONS
(22) PCT Filed: Jun. 30, 2009 H.Martinsson, J.Bengtsson, M.Ghisoni and A.Larsson Monolithic
integration of vertical cavity Surface emitting laser and diffractive
(86). PCT No.: PCT/B2O09/052838
optical element for advanced beam shaping IEEE photonics Technd.
S371 (c)(1), Lett, 11.503-505, 1999.*
(2), (4) Date: Dec. 29, 2010 Donati et al: "Self-Mixing Techniques for Sensing Applications';
Proceedings ODIMAP IV, Jun. 2004, pp. 213-214.
(87) PCT Pub. No.: WO2010/004478 Ozdemir et al: "Self-Mixing Laser Speckle Velocimeter for Blood
PCT Pub. Date: Jan. 14, 2010 Flow Measurement'; IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation Andm
(65) Prior Publication Data
Easurement, Oct. 2000, vol. 49, No. 5, pp. 1029-1035.
US 2011 FO1161O1 A1 May 19, 2011 (Continued)
(30) Foreign Application Priority Data
Primary Examiner — Tarifur Chowdhury
Jul. 7, 2008 (EP) ..................................... O8104662 Assistant Examiner — Sunghee Y Gray
(51) Int. Cl. (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm — David Zivan; Mark
G0IB II/02 (2006.01) Beloborodov
G0IB 9/02 (2006.01)
(52) U.S. Cl. (57) ABSTRACT
USPC ............................ 356/499; 356/521: 356/488
(58) Field of Classification Search ................... 356/521 A laser self-mixing measuring device is provided, comprising
See application file for complete search history. a laser with a laser cavity and a Surface arranged along the
(56) References Cited optical path of the laser beam which redirects incident laser
light back into the laser cavity. The Surface comprises a peri
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS odic structure which diffracts the laser light into partial
3.419,330 A 12/1968 Schneider
beams.
3,743,507 A * 7/1973 Lurie ................................ 430.2
4,551,018 A * 1 1/1985 Mannava et al. ............. 356,28.5
5,122,660 A * 6/1992 Yoshii et al. .............. 250,237 G 15 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
 US 8,416,424 B2
Page 2

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS OTHER PUBLICATIONS

SE R: 858 G 1 Hast, J.: “Self-Mixing Interferometry and It's Applications in
7.283 14 B2 * 10, 2007 yers Ca 356/5.15 Noninvasive Pulse Detection': Academic Dissertation From Univer
7.333,185 B2 2/2008 Wada et al. ..................... 356/28 sity of Oulu, 2003, Chapter 2, 7 Pages, Downloaded From http://
2006, OO12772 A1 1/2006 Sesko herkules.oulu.fi/isbn951426973X on Sep. 6, 2007.
2007/009 1295 A1 4/2007 Xu et al.
2009/0147265 A1 6/2009 Klaver et al. ................. 356,488 * cited by examiner
U.S. Patent Apr. 9, 2013 Sheet 1 of 4 US 8.416,424 B2
U.S. Patent Apr. 9, 2013 Sheet 2 of 4 US 8.416,424 B2

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U.S. Patent Apr. 9, 2013 Sheet 3 of 4 US 8.416,424 B2
U.S. Patent Apr. 9, 2013 Sheet 4 of 4
 US 8,416,424 B2
1. 2
LASER SELF-MIXING MEASURING DEVICE a monitoring device for monitoring the laser intensity or a
parameter equivalent thereto,
FIELD OF THE INVENTION detection circuitry for detecting periodic changes of the
laser intensity monitored by the monitoring device, and
The invention generally relates to the field of optoelec 5 a diffractive element arranged in the optical path of the
tronic devices. More specifically, the invention relates to the laser, which redirects a portion of the laser light along
measurement of displacement-related parameters such as dis the optical path back into the laser cavity. The diffractive
tance or Velocity, using laser self-mixing sensors. element has a periodic structure, which diffracts the
incident laser light into partial beams, and is movable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 10 with respect to the laser cavity.
The corresponding method of measuring a displacement
Laser self-mixing occurs if an external reflecting Surface is related parameter using the laser self-mixing measuring
arranged within the optical path of a laser so that an external device as described above comprises the steps of:
cavity is obtained. Tuning of the external cavity results in a generating a measuring laser beam within the laser cavity
readjustment of the laser equilibrium conditions and thus to 15 of a laser,
detectable changes in the laser output power. These changes, redirectingaportion of the laser light along the optical path
typically in the form of undulations or oscillations, are repeti back into the laser cavity by a diffractive element having
tive as a function of the displacement of the external reflecting a periodic structure such as, in particular, a grating,
surface over a distance of a half laser wavelength. The undu which diffracts the incident laser light into partial
lation frequency is proportional to the velocity of the external beams, and moving relative to the laser cavity,
reflector. A measuring device based on laser self-mixing typi monitoring the laser intensity or a parameter equivalent
cally shows a high sensitivity and thus a high accuracy. This thereto with a monitoring device, and
can be attributed to the fact that the reflected light re-entering detecting periodic changes of the laser intensity monitored
the laser cavity determines the modulation frequency of the by the monitoring device, using detection circuitry and
laser light and is thus amplified in the laser cavity. In this way, 25 calculating the displacement-related parameter from the
the laser acts as a phase-sensitive detector and amplifier. detected periodic changes of the laser intensity.
Accordingly, a high receiver sensitivity is obtained without The purpose of the diffractive element instead of a diffuse
additional means such as optical filters or complex devices reflecting surface is to evenly reflect the incident laser light
Such as interferometers. For example, a laser self-mixing back into the laser cavity, thereby eliminating or at least
device is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,707,027 B2. This device 30 considerably Suppressing speckle-related phenomena.
makes use of the Doppler phase shift occurring if the reflect The displacement-related parameter may be the displace
ing surface has a component of movement along the optical ment itself, the velocity, i.e. the displacement per unit of time,
path. an angle of rotation corresponding to the displacement of a
If, however, a laser self-mixing device is used to gauge the Surface, e.g. the circumferential Surface of a rotating member
Velocity or distance of an object having a randomly reflecting 35 ortheangular speed, corresponding to the displacement of the
Surface, the reflected signal strongly depends on the spatially circumferential Surface of a rotating member per unit of time.
variable reflectivity caused by wavelength-scale structures The diffractive structures preferably cover the entire area
and/or variations of composition. This may lead to very low which may be eventually impinged upon by the laser beam or
reflected signal levels which result in low or even vanishing beams in the application.
measuring signals, e.g. on absorptive or black Surfaces, but 40 In order to measure parameters related to a displacement
also on very reflective surfaces Such as on mirrors, glass or using the self-mixing effect in combination with a phase shift
shiny Surfaces. This particularly applies to measuring geom induced by the movement of the diffractive element with
etries in which the specular beam is not reflected back into the respect to the laser, it is advantageous if the diffractive ele
laser cavity. ment is movable along a direction having a component along
Another effect is what is called the speckle pattern which is 45 the direction of the incident laser beam. In this way, move
caused by the wavelength-scale structure of the surface. The ment of the diffractive element causes a tuning of the external
speckle pattern gives rise to strong random intensity varia cavity, resulting in undulations of the laser intensity due to
tions which in turn also modulate the self-mixing signal self-mixing with the diffracted partial beam.
amplitude, frequency and phase. Accordingly, the speckle In principle, the invention works with all types of lasers in
pattern influences the measurement accuracy of the system 50 which the self-mixing effect can occur. However, a laser
with regard to parameter gauges using the undulation or oscil diode as laser is particularly preferred because laser diodes
lation signal. are Small and cost-saving devices. The laser diode may be
both an edge-emitting and a vertical cavity Surface emitting
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION laser (VCSEL).
55 According to a preferred refinement of the invention, a
In view of the above-mentioned problems with known photodiode integrated with the laser is employed as a moni
devices, it is an object of the invention to improve the mea toring device. Alternatively, an external photodiode may be
Surement accuracy of a laser self-mixing device. The inven employed. An external photodiode may be advantageous to
tion is based on the use of a diffractive element for redirecting achieve very high signal levels. For this purpose, the photo
a part of a laser beam back into the laser cavity of a laser for 60 diode may be placed in the optical path of one of the partial
measuring displacement-related parameters such as displace beams emanating from the diffractive element which is not
ment, velocity or rotation of the diffractive element with re-directed back into the laser cavity. This partial beam may
respect to the laser by means of the laser self-mixing effect. also be the specular beam.
To this end, a laser self-mixing device is provided, com It is further advantageous to use a structured film as a
prising 65 diffractive element. This film or foil can be attached to the
a laser having a laser cavity for generating a measuring movable member, a displacement-related parameter of which
laser beam, is to be determined. In particular, given the fact that the
 US 8,416,424 B2
3 4
structural and/or mechanical requirements of the diffractive The invention can measure infinite distances, e.g. the rotation
element are low, cheap structured plastic films can be used. of axes or closed Surfaces Such as conveyor belts. It is not
Moreover, a holographic metal foil may be employed as a bound to a known or calibrated mechanical reference and can
diffractive element. detect movement of any reasonably smooth surface along
An additional focusing element is preferably provided to with the diffractive property.
converge the beam towards the diffractive element. In par Depending on the application, displacement-related
ticular, the focusing element may focus the laser beam onto parameters associated with a movement of varying direction
the periodic structure of the diffractive element. within a plane may be sensed. For this purpose, a two-dimen
Furthermore, the laser self-mixing measuring device may sional grating as a diffractive element and two lasers may be
comprise a deflecting optical element which deflects the laser 10 employed. A two-dimensional grating is referred to as a grat
beam so that it is incident on the surface of the diffractive ing having diffractive structures effective in two non-coinci
element at an oblique angle. This configuration allows dent directions along the Surface of the grating. For example,
arrangement of the laser with respect to the surface to be the grating may be a grid of intersecting line-shaped struc
measured in a simple configuration in which the laser beam is tures, i.e. a combination of two one-dimensional gratings, or
emitted vertically to the moving Surface, and the Surface 15 line gratings, respectively. Moreover, a point grid may be
moves along a lateral direction thereof. employed. To detect the movement in an arbitrary direction
This embodiment is particularly advantageous for a com along the grating, the lasers are positioned in Such a way that
pact design in combination with a VCSEL as laser. Employ the planes of incidence defined by the optical paths of the
ing a VCSEL and a deflecting element allows the laser to be lasers and the two-dimensional grating enclose an angle. It is
directly mounted on a circuit board retained parallel to the further advantageous to design and position the grating in
moving diffractive element. Furthermore, the focusing ele such a way that diffracted beams are redirected into the laser
ment and the deflecting element may be advantageously com cavities for each laser.
bined by using a lens arranged off-axis with respect to the Applications in rotational, linear, 2D and 3D-metrology
laser beam. tools and machines as angle, displacement and speed encod
To optimize the diffraction backwards along the optical 25 ers are envisaged. The invention can likewise be used in
path, the periodic structure of the diffractive element may high-precision machining tools, both for linear and rotational
advantageously comprise a blazed grating. moVement.
Furthermore, to eliminate speckle effects based on specu Furthermore, a highly sensitive detection of movement can
lar reflection, the surface of the diffractive element may be realized and applied in vibration measurement systems
advantageously be arranged obliquely to the direction of the 30 and contact or position detection Switches.
incident laser beam. The diffractive element such as in particular a grating does
It is also advantageous to design and position the diffrac not only provide a well-defined uniform intensity of the back
tive element with respect to the laser in such a way that a scattered laser beam but also provides the possibility of
partial beam having a diffraction order other than Zero order encoding information by suitable modulation of the diffrac
is redirected back into the laser cavity. To achieve this, the 35 tive pattern. In this way, the backscattered laser beam is
angle of incidence a may advantageously satisfy the condition modulated in conformity with the pattern so that the encoded
disin(C) m W2. In this equation, d denotes the grating pitch information can be decoded from the self-mixing signal.
(i.e. the distance between the grating lines or other diffractive A very useful example in this regard is encoding position
structures). Furthermore, w denotes the laser wavelength and data, particularly absolute position data. One possibility of
m is an integer. In particular, m may be negative, as the light 40 encoding the information is to vary the blaze angle of a blazed
is diffracted backwards along the optical path. grating. Generally, the modulation may include a phase, a
However, it is not necessary to match this condition per frequency, and/or an amplitude modulation. For example, a
fectly. Rather, the advantages of a strong and constant self bar-code like representation may be used.
mixing signal are obtained as long as the deviation of the According to one aspect of the invention, a laser interfero
partial beam diffracted backwards to the incident laser beam 45 metric measuring device for measuring displacement-related
is Small enough so that the diffracted partial beam at least parameters is thus provided, the device comprising:
partially re-enters the laser cavity. In this regard, a focusing a laser having a laser cavity for generating a measuring
element is advantageous for compensating deviations of the laser beam,
directions of the incident beam and the partial beam diffracted a diffractive element arranged in the optical path of the
backwards to the laser cavity. Specifically, a part of the partial 50 laser, which diffracts a portion of the laser light owing to
beam can still re-enter the laser cavity as long as the pencil a periodic structure, which diffracts the incident laser
beams of the incident laser beam and the diffracted partial light into partial beams, and being movable with respect
beam overlap. To redirect a diffracted partial beam back into to the laser cavity,
the laser cavity, it is also advantageous to position the diffrac a monitoring device for monitoring the laser intensity
tive element in such away that its diffractive structures extend 55 superpositioned by a diffracted partial beam diffracted at
Vertically to the plane of incidence. Again, however, it is not the diffractive element, and
necessary to match this condition exactly so that the diffrac detection circuitry for detecting changes of the laser inten
tive structures may be slightly tilted to the perpendicular of sity monitored by the monitoring device due to interfer
the plane of incidence because a partial beam will be redi ence of the laser beam with the diffracted partial beam.
rected into the laser cavity as long as this beam overlaps with 60 This embodiment also encompasses interferometric sen
the incident beam. sors for sensing displacement-related parameters other than
The invention may be used for measuring distance and self-mixing sensors because the principle of using a diffrac
movements (both speed and direction) of objects with a very tive surface as a reflector for measuring displacement-related
high accuracy. The diffractive element may have a transla parameters such as distance or Velocity, in which the diffrac
tional and/or a rotational movement. Generally, the invention 65 tive pattern is modulated to convey additional information, is
provides a low-cost alternative for devices based on interfer independent of a detection of the oscillations by self-mixing.
ometry or making use of expensive glass standards or the like. For example, an external cavity sensor may be used instead of
 US 8,416,424 B2
5 6
a self-mixing sensor. Specifically, the Superposition of the Furthermore, a part of the laser light is redirected along the
primary laser beam or a part thereofanda beam reflected from optical path after being reflected or scattered at the diffractive
the moving Surface are Superpositioned externally to the laser element 20 and enters the laser cavity 9 again. Due to the
cavity in an external cavity sensor. component of movement of the diffractive element 20 parallel
or antiparallel to the incident laser beam, the phase of the
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS redirected part of the laser beam 10 is shifted. This shift
causes a time-varying phase shift with respect to the gener
The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages of ated laser beam. As the redirected laser light and the gener
the present invention will be better understood from the fol ated laser light interfere within the laser cavity 9, the varying
lowing detailed description with reference to the drawings, in 10 phase shift causes oscillations in laser intensity.
which: Generally, the number of oscillations per unit of time
FIG. 1 shows Schematically a laser self-mixing measuring directly corresponds to the amount of phase shift and thus also
device, to the value of the velocity component along the direction of
FIG. 2 shows a diffractive element, the incident laser beam 10. A parameter corresponding to the
FIG.3 shows the self-mixing signal of a diffuse reflecting
15 displacement of a Surface of the rotating member, e.g. the
Surface, circumferential Surface, and thus to the angle of rotation can
FIG. 4 shows the self-mixing signal of a diffraction grating, be obtained by counting the number of oscillations.
The laser intensity is monitored by the photodiode 11 and
FIG. 5 shows schematically a further embodiment of a the monitoring signal is fed to the detection circuitry 17,
laser self-mixing measuring device, wherein the oscillations of the laser intensity are detected and
FIG. 6 is a top view of an embodiment with two lasers, analyzed.
FIG. 7 shows a variant of a diffractive element as shown in To further improve the sensitivity of the setup, a lens 12 is
FIG. 2, in which data are encoded as a modulation of the blaze arranged in the optical path. The lens 12 focuses the laser
angle of the grating, and beam 10 onto the action plane, i.e. the structure of the diffrac
FIG. 8 shows a further variant of a diffractive element as 25 tive element 20.
shown in FIG. 2, in which data are encoded as a phase modu FIG. 2 shows a part of a diffractive element 20 in the form
lation of the grating. of a structured film as may be advantageously employed in
the arrangement shown in FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS According to this embodiment, the diffractive element 20
30 may be a plastic film with an embossed grating 21. Due to the
FIG. 1 shows, by way of example, a setup of a laser self Small pitch 22 of the grating 21, the incident laserbeam is split
mixing measuring device 1. The laser self-mixing measuring into partial beams corresponding to different orders of dif
device 1 comprises fraction. The pitch 22 of the grating lines and the angle of
a laser 3 having a laser cavity 9 for generating a measuring incidence C. with respect to the direction 25 of the incident
laser beam 10, 35 laser beam is chosen to be such that a partial beam having a
a monitoring device for monitoring the laser intensity or a diffraction order other than Zero order is redirected back into
parameter equivalent thereto, the laser cavity along direction 26. For example, the beam
detection circuitry 17 for detecting periodic changes of the diffracted back along direction 26 may be the minus 1' order
laser intensity monitored by the monitoring device, and partial beam. To achieve coincidence of the incident beam
a diffractive element having a periodic structure, which 40 and the redirected partial beam, the condition disin(C)=m:W2
diffracts the incident laser light into partial beams, and should be satisfied, wherein d is the grating pitch 22. How
being arranged in the optical path of the laser. The dif ever, a certain deviation is tolerable as long as at least a part of
fractive element redirects a portion of the laser light the redirected diffracted beam enters the laser cavity.
along the optical path back into the laser cavity and is It is advantageous to use a blazed grating as shown in FIG.
movable with respect to the laser cavity 9. 45 2. Due to the blazed reflection surfaces of the grating lines, the
The cavity 9 of the laser 3 is confined between two Bragg reflected light in the direction of the incident beam can be
reflectors 5, 7. A monitoring photodiode 11 is arranged maximized. Hence, also the maximum working distance of
behind the rear-side Bragg reflector 5. A small portion of the the measuring system can be increased.
laser light passes through the Bragg reflector 5 and canthus be FIG.3 shows the self-mixing signal obtained from a mov
monitored by the photodiode 11. The laser 3 is preferably a 50 ing, conventional diffuse reflecting Surface as a function of
diode laser. the sample index. As the samples are recorded in regular time
The device as shown is a setup for measuring the rotational intervals, the abscissa also represents the time axis. The self
velocity orangle of rotation of a rotating member 15. For this mixing signal is the variation of the laser power.
purpose, a diffractive element 20 in the form of a structured As can be seen from FIG. 3, the laser signal oscillates
film is provided on the lateral surface of the rotating member. 55 around a mean value which therefore represents the value “O'”
As the rotating element 15 rotates, its lateral surface and the on the ordinate. The periodic oscillations arise from the phase
structured film thereon move with respect to the laser cavity 9. shift caused by the component of movement of the surface in
Specifically, as can be seen from FIG. 1, the laser 3 and the a direction parallel or antiparallel to the incident laser beam.
rotating member 15 are arranged relative to each other so that Furthermore, the amplitude of the self-mixing signal shows
the surface of the diffractive element 20 is arranged obliquely 60 an intense random variation on a longer time scale. This
to the direction of the incident laser beam 10 at the point of variation is attributed to the speckle pattern and is so intense
incidence of the laser beam 10. In this way, the diffractive that the self-mixing signal nearly vanishes at certain points. It
element moves in a direction having a component along the is obvious that, particularly at these points, the measurement
direction of the incident laser beam upon rotation of the accuracy degrades.
rotating member. Specifically, depending on the sense of 65 For comparison, FIG. 4 shows a diagram of the self-mixing
rotation, the component of movement is either parallel or signal obtained by using a moving diffractive element instead
antiparallel to the laser beam 10. of a moving diffuse reflecting Surface.
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7 8
As is clear from FIG.4, the diffractive structure completely incident beam is split into partial beams which are redirected
or at least nearly completely eliminates speckle pattern-re back along the respective optical path. For this purpose, the
lated intensity variations. two-dimensional grating is further aligned in Such away that,
The diffractive structure effects an evenly reflection of the for both lasers 300, 301, grating lines extend vertically to the
incident laser light back into the laser cavity, thereby elimi respective plane of incidence. Each laser 300, 301 is fur
nating the speckle effect. Even if an additional diffuse reflec nished with a monitoring photodiode 110 and 111, respec
tion appears, speckle effects still remain strongly suppressed tively, for monitoring the intensity oscillations of the lasers
as long as the most redirected light originates from diffraction 300, 301.
at the regular structure of the diffractive element. As can also FIG.7 shows a variant of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.
be estimated from FIG. 4, the variation of the oscillation 10 According to this variant, the grating 21 is divided into
amplitude is generally less than 4 of the oscillation ampli regions 201, 202 alternating along the direction of the surface
tude. scanned by the incident beam 10 upon movement of the
As can also be seen from FIG. 4, the light intensity oscil diffractive element.
lations are not sinusoidal. Rather, the shape of the oscillations As can be seen from FIG. 7, the blaze angle 204 in regions
is slightly asymmetric. This asymmetry is indicative of the 15 202 is slightly smaller than the blaze angle 201 of the grating
direction of movement. Due to the strong self-mixing signal, lines within regions 201. This also alters the intensity of the
a high signal quality is achieved, which also substantially partial beam diffracted back into the laser cavity. Accord
facilitates an evaluation of the shape of the oscillations. ingly, the laser self-mixing signal is amplitude-modulated
Accordingly, it is possible to determine the direction of move and the data may be easily retrieved by evaluating the ampli
ment with improved reliability. tude of the self-mixing oscillations. By varying the width of
FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of a laser self-mixing regions 201 and/or 202, data such as absolute position data
measuring device 1. The laser self-mixing measuring device may thus be easily encoded, e.g. in a bar code scheme.
1 is designed to determine a displacement-related parameter Another possibility is to assign a binary sequence to a
for a displacement of the diffractive element 20 along direc sequence of regions 201, 202. Of course, there are further
tion 29. The displacement-related parameter may be the dis 25 possibilities of encoding data by varying the blaze angle.
placement itself or the Velocity, i.e. the displacement per unit FIG.8 shows a further variant of a diffractive element 20 as
of time. In this embodiment, the laser 3 is mounted on a circuit shown in FIG.2. Similarly to the variant shown in FIG. 7, data
board 28 together with further electronic components such as are represented by alternating regions 201 and 202. However,
the detection circuitry 17. The circuit board 28 is retained in the variant shown in FIG. 8, the regions 201, 202 are
parallel to the surface of the diffractive element 20 and the 30 distinguished by a phase modulation. For this purpose, the
grating 21, respectively. The laser 3 of this embodiment may grating lines within regions 202 are slightly shifted by a small
advantageously be a VCSEL so that the VCSEL chip can be distance 205 with respect to the positions obtained by peri
mounted directly on the circuit board 28 with the laser beam odically perpetuating the grating lines within regions 202.
10 emitted vertically to the circuit board 28. Similarly as in Although preferred embodiments of the present invention
the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a lens 12 as a converging 35 have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and
element is placed in front of the laser 3. The lens 12 is described in the foregoing description, it will be understood
positioned off-axis with respect to the emitted laser beam 10 that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed
so that the laser beam 10 is additionally deflected and and that numerous modifications can be conceived by those
impinges on the grating at an oblique angle. skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the
The grating 21 splits the laser beam into several diffracted 40 invention as set out in the following claims.
beams. One of the diffracted beams 31 having a diffraction The invention claimed is:
order other than Zero order is redirected back into the laser 1. A laser self-mixing measuring device comprising:
cavity. As shown in FIG. 5, the emitted laser beam 10 and the a laser having a laser cavity for generating measuring laser
redirected diffracted partial beam at least partially overlap. light;
Similarly as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the light 45 a monitoring device for monitoring laser intensity,
intensity may be detected with an internal monitoring photo detection circuitry for detecting periodic changes of the
diode of laser 3. It is also possible to use an external photo laser intensity monitored by said monitoring device; and
diode 11 as shown in FIG. 5. This photodiode 11 may advan a diffractive element arranged in an optical path of the
tageously be positioned on the circuit board so that it receives laser, which redirects a portion of the laser light along
the light of another diffracted partial beam 31. 50 the optical path back into the laser cavity, said diffractive
FIG. 6 is a top view of an embodiment of a laser self element including a blazed grating comprising regions
mixing device 1 set up for detection of displacement in an of different blazing angles, which diffracts the laser light
arbitrary lateral direction along the diffractive element 20. into partial beams, and being movable with respect to the
Two lasers 300 and 301 are provided for this purpose. The laser cavity, wherein the monitoring device is configured
diffractive element 20 comprises a two-dimensional, meshed 55 to monitor the laser intensity on the optical path in the
grating 21. The laser beams 100 and 101 of the lasers 300,301 laser cavity on which said portion of the laser light is
are focused by lenses 120, 121 and are incident on the grating redirected by the diffractive element and wherein the
21 in two different lateral directions. Accordingly, the planes detection circuitry is configured to detect the periodic
of incidence of the laser beams 100,101 defined by the optical changes, which result from movement of the diffractive
paths of the lasers 300, 301 and the two-dimensional grating 60 element.
21 enclose an angle. Specifically, the lasers 300, 301 in the 2. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to
embodiment shown by way of example in FIG. 6 are posi claim 1, comprising a focusing element which focuses the
tioned in Such a way that the planes of incidence enclose a laser light onto the diffractive element.
right angle so that perpendicular components of displacement 3. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to
or movement of the grating 21 are detected by the lasers 300, 65 claim 1, wherein a surface of the diffractive element is
301. As the grating is structured two-dimensionally, it is arranged obliquely to a direction of the laser light that is
effective for both lasers so that for each laser 300, 301, the incident to the surface of the diffractive element.
 US 8,416,424 B2
9 10
4. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to 11. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to
claim 1, wherein said diffractive element includes diffractive claim 1, wherein the regions of different blazing angles
structures extending vertically to a plane of incidence. encode data.
5. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to 12. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to
claim 1, comprising a deflecting optical element which 5 claim 11, wherein the data is position data.
deflects the laser light in such a way that the laser light is 13. A method of measuring a displacement-related param
incident on a surface of said diffractive element at an oblique eter using a laser self-mixing measuring device, the method
angle. comprising the steps of
6. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to generating measuring laser light within a laser cavity of a
claim 1, in which the diffractive element is positioned in such 10 laser,
away that a partial beam having a diffraction order other than redirecting a portion of the laser light along an optical path
Zero order is redirected back into the laser cavity. on which said laser light traverses back into the laser
7. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to cavity by a diffractive element including ablazed grating
comprising regions of different blazing angles, which
claim 1, comprising a structured film as the diffractive ele 15 diffracts the laser light into partial beams, and moving
ment, said structured film being attached to a movable mem relative to the laser cavity;
ber. monitoring a laser intensity on the optical path in the laser
8. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to cavity on which said portion of the laser light is redi
claim 1, comprising a laser diode as the laser and a photodiode rected by the diffractive element with a monitoring
integrated with the laser as a monitoring device. device; and
9. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to detecting periodic changes of the laser intensity monitored
claim 1, wherein the diffractive element is movable in a by said monitoring device using detection circuitry and
direction having a component along a direction of the laser calculating said displacement-related parameter from
light that is incident to the diffractive element. the detected periodic changes of the laser intensity.
10. The laser self-mixing measuring device according to 25 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the regions
claim 1, wherein the diffractive element comprises a two of different blazing angles encode data.
dimensional grating, the device further comprising an addi 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the data is
tional laser with an additional optical path, wherein planes of position data.
incidence are defined by the optical paths of the lasers and the
two-dimensional grating enclosing an angle.