Demonstration of tilt sensing using a homodyne quadrature interferometric translational sensor

Abstract Future gravitational wave observation in space will demand improvement in the sensitivity of the local sensor for the drag-free control. This paper presents the proposal, design, and demonstration of a new laser interferometric sensor named Quadrature Interferometric Metrology of Translation and Tilt (QUIMETT) for the drag-free local sensor. QUIMETT enables simultaneous measurements of both translational displacement and tilts of a reflective object with a single interferometer package. QUIMETT offers a characteristic feature where the sensitivity to tilt is independent of the interference condition while maintaining the ability to measure the translational displacement for a range greater than the laser wavelength. The tilt-sensing function has been demonstrated in a prototype experiment. The tilt sensitivity remained unchanged in different interference conditions and stayed at 10 nrad Hz <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> at 0.1 Hz.