Measurement of the distance between two parallel precision apertures using time-of-flight method for cryogenic radiometry

Time-of-flight method was adopted to measure the distance between two parallel precision apertures utilized in a vacuum chamber for cryogenic radiometry. The diameters of the apertures are 9 mm and 8 mm, respectively. A 1550-nm femtosecond pulse laser, a 70-GHz photodetector, and a 30-GHz oscilloscope were used to measure the round-trip flight time difference between the flat front surfaces of the two precision apertures. The distance between the apertures was analyzed to be 0.36423 m with a relative standard uncertainty of 0.004%. The non-contact distance measurement method is useful for applications such as low background infrared radiance measurement system based on an absolute cryogenic radiometer.