A Method for Expansion of Z-Directional Measurement Range in a Mode-Locked Femtosecond Laser Chromatic Confocal Probe

A method is proposed to expand the Z-directional measurement range of a fiber-based dual-detector chromatic confocal probe with a mode-locked femtosecond laser source. In the dual-detector chromatic confocal probe, the Z-directional displacement of a measurement target is derived from the peak wavelength in the normalized intensity ratio from the two light intensities obtained by the two identical fiber detectors. In this paper, a new method utilizing the main-lobe and side-lobes of axial responses acquired from both the normalized intensity ratio Ia and the invert normalized intensity ratio In, which is the inverse of Ia, is proposed to obtain the seamless relationship between the peak wavelength and the Z-directional displacement of a measurement target. Theoretical calculations and experimental investigation are carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed measurement range expansion method.