A double sinusoidal phase modulating (SPM) laser diode interferometer for thickness measurements of a transparent plate is presented. A carrier signal is given to the interference signal by using a piezoelectric transducer, and the SPM interferometry is applied to measure the thickness of a transparent plate. By combining the double-modulation technique with the Bessel function ratio method, the measurement error originating from light intensity fluctuations caused by the modulation current can be decreased greatly.The thicknesses of a glass parallel plate and a quartz glass are measured in real time, and the corresponding experimental results are also given.
