From Light to Displacement: A Design Framework for Optimising Spectral-Domain Low-Coherence Interferometric Sensors for In Situ Measurement

Abstract

Growing requirements for in situ metrology during manufacturing have led to an increased interest in optical coherence tomography (OCT) configurations of low coherence interferometry (LCI) for industrial domains. This paper investigates the optimisation of spectral domain OCT hardware and signal processing for such implementations. A collation of the underlying theory of OCT configured LCI systems from disparate sources linking the journey of the light reflected from the object surface to the definition of the measurand is presented. This is portrayed in an applicable, comprehensible design framework through its application to profilometry measurements for optimising system performance.