Laser speckle velocimeter using self-mixing laser diode

Abstract

We have built a novel laser speckle velocimeter using a self-mixing laser diode (SM-LD). The speckle signal obtained by the measurement system has a waveform independent of the target velocity when the same path on the target surface is iteratively measured. The mean frequency of the speckle signal is directly proportional to the target velocity when the laser beam spot diameter is kept constant, and greater than 0.36 mm. The mean speckle signal frequency is automatically measured by using a computer. Its measurement error is inversely proportional to the scanned length, and is 2% for 100 mm. It is possible to detect velocity of the target transversely moving across the laser light beam using this compact measuring system.