Fabry-Pérot interferometry for long range displacement sensing.

We investigate different optical configurations of a low-finesse Fabry-Pérot interferometer used for displacement sensing. The different configurations of the Fabry-Pérot cavity are selected in order to achieve large measurement ranges and angular alignment tolerances and to make the interferometer applicable for targets of various reflectivity ranges. The possible working ranges and angular alignment tolerances are characterized with respect to the interference contrast which is a measure for the signal quality. The use of a confocal arrangement enables a measurement range of up to about 0.4 m, or to work with an angular tolerance of more than ±0.2°. In order to predict the optical response of arbitrary configurations of the Fabry-Pérot interferometer, we introduce a simulation method based on the Airy formula and the fiber optic coupling efficiency.