Michelson Interferometer

thingiverse

I have completely reengineered a Michelson Interferometer based on the ingenious design of ordaos' thingiverse masterpiece, tailored to meet my precise requirements and expectations. I've leveraged pre-cut OpenBEAM extrusions for the structural framework and custom 3D printed components to securely fasten the optics in place. In this project, I utilized a high-powered He-Ne laser as the primary light source, which yielded exceptional interference patterns due to its superior quality. Although it's possible to achieve decent results with a budget-friendly $2 laser pointer, the beam shape is rather unrefined, making alignment a more daunting task. To rapidly capture and process the signal, I integrated a PIN photodiode equipped with onboard amplification, which seamlessly interfaces with a digital oscilloscope. Additionally, I fabricated a motorized mount from repurposed CD drive components to enable precise movement of one mirror along the beam axis, aiming to employ this device for spectroscopy purposes. So far, I've managed to successfully track the speed and relative position of the mirror by counting fringes with the scope. By employing a more sophisticated signal acquisition method, it's feasible to utilize the He-Ne laser as a calibration reference point and accurately measure the spectrum of other light sources. You can witness my hands-on demonstration of this innovative setup in action here: https://youtu.be/Cea9mbSiblM