A tutorial on laser interferometry for precision measurements

Laser interferometers have found wide usage in a variety of precision measurement applications. The ability to gain precise position information with minimal change to the dynamics of the device being measured has a large set of advantages. This allows interferometer systems to be used in feedback loops for precision systems. This paper presents a tutorial on laser interferometers, their use in precision motion feedback systems, the issues faced by such systems, and some of the solutions that have been applied to these issues.