Laser Interferometric sensor for Seismic Waves Measurement

Laser interferometry is one of the most sensitive methods for small displacement measurement for scientific and industrial applications, whose wide diffusion in very different fields is due not only to the high sensitivity and reliability of laser interferometric techniques, but also to the availability of not expensive optical components and high quality low-cost laser sources. Interferometric techniques have been already successfully applied also to the design and implementation of very sensitive sensors for geophysical applications. In this paper we describe the architecture and the expected theoretical performances of a laser interferometric velocimeter for seismic waves measurement. We analyze and discuss the experimental performances of the interferometric system, comparing the experimental results with the theoretical predictions and with the performances of a state-of-the art commercial accelerometer. The results obtained are very encouraging, although few problems, mainly related to the sensitivity and stability of the interferometric system, have to be better studied.