Spatially dispersive displacement sensor utilizing a semiconductor gain chip.

We demonstrate the development of a simply equipped displacement sensor utilizing spatially dispersive confocal technology. It feeds the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) of a laser diode to a wavelength-selective feedback structure that corresponds to the position of a measured surface. The displacement sensor has a detecting range of 4 microm and precision of less than 2 nm, as proven by the analysis of the spectral shifts of the multipassed amplified output ASE. As compared with traditional sensors, the displacement sensor presented in our study requires fewer components and has as high precision as complex systems and a higher measurement rate due to the simpler strategy of displacement determination.