A new approach for highly accurate optical interferometry measurements in nanotechnology

The project shall explore the potential of a recently developed interferometry technique for spatially resolved interferometry applied to high-accuracy (sub-nm) optical distance measurements. This new approach enables the use of unconventional and very compact optical setups and therefore has the potential to benefit a wide range of high-accuracy applications in nanoscience and technology. One of the important challenges to be solved in this project is how to improve the calibration of the laser emission wavelength, ideally using an atomic absorption line reference to make the measurements meteorologically traceable. Furthermore, the ultimate performance limits , such as the apparent high linearity of the proposed technique should be investigated and characterised. Additional topics can be the extension of the proposed the wavelength calibration approach to other laser sources, potentiall opening up new avenues in high-resolution spectroscopy experiments and general laser technology.