Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for detecting surface wave vector dynamics using three beams of coherent light

US5477324A · kind A · utility

20Cited by
15References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 26, 1994
Grant dateDec 19, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 26, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01P3/366
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A method of detecting and measuring separately the components of vector dynamics on the surface of a vibrating object comprises directing three beams of coherent light onto a common spot on the surface. Each of these beams has a known optical frequency. Two are arranged symmetrically about a normal to the surface at the point of incidence and the third is arranged asymmetrically about the normal with respect to both the first and second beams. Superposition of each beam with the others on the surface produces scattered light embodying characteristic beat or carrier signals equal to the difference in frequencies between the beams. Vector dynamics including velocity and displacement of the vibrating surface induces Doppler shifts in the beams, which, in turn results in a modulation of the carrier frequencies resulting from the superposition of the beams. Each carrier frequency is then isolated and demodulated to produce a signal corresponding to various components of the vector dynamics on the surface that cause the modulation. Further analysis extracts information about the frequency and magnitude of resolved vector dynamics on the surface. The method can be applied at several locat…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.