High Precision Position Measurement Method for Laguerre-Gaussian Beams Using a Quadrant Detector

• Main Authors: Qian Li, Jiabin Wu, Yunshan Chen, Jingyuan Wang, Shijie Gao, Zhiyong Wu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-11-01
• Series: Sensors
• Subjects: position measurement method; quadrant detector; Laguerre-Gaussian beams; least square method; effective radius; detection
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/11/4007

In this paper, we propose a new method to improve the position measurement accuracy for Laguerre-Gaussian beams on a quadrant detector (QD). First, the error effects of the detector diameter and the gap size are taken into account, and the position error compensation factor is introduced into the conventional formula. Then, in order to reduce the number of parameters, the concept of effective radius is proposed. Thus, a new analytical expression is obtained with a best fit using the least square method. It is verified by simulation that this approach can reduce the maximum error by 97.4% when the beam radius is 0.95 mm; meanwhile, the root mean square errors under different radii are all less than 0.004 mm. The results of simulation show that the new method could effectively improve the accuracy of the QD measurement for different radii. Therefore, the new method would have a good prospect in the engineering practice of beam position measurements.