Conceptual design and demonstration of a three-color laser interferometer for noise reduction in fusion plasma measurements

A three-color laser interferometer consisting of three Mach-Zehnder-type, one-color laser interferometers with heterodyne detection and coaxial laser beams is demonstrated. The three-color laser interferometer is considered as three sets of a two-color laser interferometer. From the two sets of the two-color laser interferometer, the value consisting only of the noise floor can be assessed. The noise floor can be reduced by subtracting the value consisting only of the noise floor from the measurement value obtained with the other two-color laser interferometer. In the case of the three lasers with wavelengths 9.25 mu m, 10.59 mu m, and 532 nm, a 15% noise reduction was obtained compared to the two sets of the two-color laser interferometers contained in the three-color laser interferometer. The 100-Hz noise reduction by 53% was achieved, and the other frequency noises were equal to or less than the smallest noise achieved by the two-color laser interferometers. The 100-Hz noise floor is caused by the vibration noise, which remains because of the non-coaxiality of the three beams. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates a three-color laser interferometer composed of three Mach-Zehnder-type, one-color laser interferometers with heterodyne detection and coaxial laser beams. The noise floor can be assessed from two sets of two-color laser interferometers, and subtracting it from the measurement value obtained with the other two-color laser interferometer can reduce the noise floor. Compared to the two sets of the two-color laser interferometers in the three-color laser interferometer, a 15% noise reduction was achieved for lasers with wavelengths of 9.25 μm, 10.59 μm, and 532 nm. A 53% reduction in 100 Hz noise was achieved, and other frequency noises were equal to or less than the smallest noise achieved by the two-color laser interferometers. The 100 Hz noise floor is caused by vibration noise due to the non-coaxiality of the three beams.