Interferometric quasi-autocollimator

1. A method for measuring angular deflections of a target, the method comprising:

splitting an input electromagnetic beam into a first beam and a second beam, the location of the splitting defining a first position;

propagating the first beam along a first portion of a first propagation path, the first portion of the first propagation path extending from the first position to a reflecting surface of a target, the first beam being incident on the target reflecting surface approximately normal to the target reflecting surface and reflecting from the target reflecting surface;

propagating the reflected first beam along a second portion of the first propagation path, the second portion of the first propagation path extending from the target reflecting surface to a position-sensitive photodetector, the first beam being reflected an even number of times during its propagation along the second portion of the first propagation path;

propagating the second beam along a first portion of a second propagation path, the first portion of the second propagation path extending from the first position to the target reflecting surface, the second beam being incident on the target reflecting surface approximately normal to the target reflecting surface and reflecting from the target reflecting surface, the first and second beams being at least partially superimposed at the target reflecting surface;

propagating the reflected second beam along a second portion of the second propagation path, the second portion of the second propagation path extending from the target reflecting surface to the position-sensitive photodetector, the second beam being reflected an odd number of times during its propagation along the second portion of the second propagation path, the first and second beams interfering at the position-sensitive photodetector so as to produce interference patterns;

interpreting the interference patterns to determine angular deflections of the target reflecting surface.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the first and second propagation paths coincide; and

the first and second beams propagate along the coinciding first and second propagation paths in opposite directions.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

polarizing the input electromagnetic beam prior to being split into the first and second beams;

rotating the polarity of one of the first and second beams by 90 degrees during its propagation along the first portion of its respective propagation path;

passing each of the first and second beams through a polarizing beam splitter during its propagation along the first portion of its respective propagation path to direct each of the first and second beams toward the target reflecting surface;

passing each of the first and second beams through a quarter-wave plate twice to rotate the polarity of each of the first and second beams by 90 degrees, the quarter-wave plate being located between the polarizing beam splitter and the target reflecting surface; and

passing each of the first and second beams through the polarizing beam splitter during its propagation along the second portion of its respective propagation path to direct each of the first and second beams along the remainder of the second portion of its respective propagation path.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein:

non-target mirrors are used to reflect each of the first and second beams along its respective propagation path; and

an out-of-plane misalignment of at least one of the target mirrors is used to generate a difference in path length between the first and second propagation paths.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the input electromagnetic beam has a Gaussian profile.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the input electromagnetic beam has an elliptical Gaussian profile that, when incident upon the position-sensitive photodetector, is elongated along an axis of interest on the position-sensitive photodetector.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said interpreting the interference patterns to

determine angular deflections of the target reflecting surface comprises:

determining a beam spot displacement for one of the interference patterns; and

calculating an angle of the target reflecting surface, the angle of the target reflecting surface being proportional to the beam spot displacement and inversely proportional to a weak value amplification factor that is based at least partially on a phase offset between the first and second beams at the position-sensitive photodetector.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising changing the weak value amplification factor by changing the phase offset.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the input electromagnetic beam consists of a single wavelength.

10. A system for measuring angular deflections of a target, the system comprising:

an electromagnetic beam source configured to generate an input electromagnetic beam;

a beam splitter configured to split the input electromagnetic beam into a first beam and a second beam;

a target reflecting surface, the first beam propagating from the beam splitter to the target reflecting surface along a first portion of a first propagation path, the second beam propagating from the beam splitter to the target reflecting surface along a first portion of a second propagation path, each of the first and second beams being incident on the target reflecting surface approximately normal to the target reflecting surface and reflecting from the target reflecting surface, the first and second beams being at least partially superimposed at the target reflecting surface;

a position-sensitive photodetector, the first beam reflected from the target reflecting surface propagating to the position-sensitive photodetector along a second portion of the first propagation path, the first beam being reflected an even number of times during its propagation along the second portion of the first propagation path, the second beam reflected from the target reflecting surface propagating to the position-sensitive photodetector along a second portion of the second propagation path, the second beam being reflected an odd number of times during its propagation along the second portion of the second propagation path, the first and second beams interfering at the position-sensitive photodetector to produce interference patterns, the position-sensitive photodetector generating an output signal in response to the first and second beams and the interference patterns; and

a processor receiving the output signal and being configured to process the output signal to determine angular deflections of the target reflecting surface by interpreting the interference patterns.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein:

the first and second propagation paths coincide; and

the first and second beams propagate along the coinciding first and second propagation paths in opposite directions.

12. The system of claim 11 , further comprising:

a polarizer disposed between the electromagnetic beam source and the beam splitter to polarize the input electromagnetic beam;

a half-wave plate disposed between the beam splitter and the target reflecting surface along the first portion of one of the first and second propagation paths to rotate the polarity of the respective one of the first and second beams by 90 degrees;

a polarizing beam splitter disposed along the first portions of the first and second propagation paths, each of the first and second beams being passed through the polarizing beam splitter; and

a quarter-wave plate disposed between the polarizing beam splitter and the target reflecting surface, each of the first and second beams being passed through the quarter-wave plate prior to being incident on the target reflecting surface, and each of the first and second beams being passed back through the quarter-wave plate after being reflected from the target reflecting surface.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein a phase offset exists between the first and second beams at the position-sensitive photodetector.

14. The system of claim 12 , further comprising non-target mirrors that are used to reflect each of the first and second beams along its respective propagation path.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein at least one of the non-target mirrors is misaligned to at least partially provide the phase-offset.

16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the electromagnetic beam source comprises a single wavelength laser.

17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the input electromagnetic beam has a Gaussian profile.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein:

the first and second propagation paths are coplanar; and

the input electromagnetic beam has an elliptical Gaussian profile that is elongated in-plane with the first and second propagation paths.

19. The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor calculates an angle of the target reflecting surface by determining a beam spot displacement for one of the interference patterns, the angle of the target reflecting surface being proportional to the beam spot displacement and inversely proportional to a weak value amplification factor that is based at least partially on a phase offset between the first and second beams at the position-sensitive photodetector.

20. The system of claim 19 , further comprising an actuator operable to rotate a non-target mirror by a predetermined angle at a predetermined frequency, and wherein the processor is configured to determine the weak value amplification factor in response to the output signal generated by said rotation of the non-target mirror.