Measuring Small Phase Perturbations

Visidyne proposes to critically assess the requirements for a phase processor to detect miniscule phase bumps hidden in the beat frequency signal from a pair of interfering optical beams, e.g., used to link proof masses on free flying satellites. These phase bumps, the result of a cosmological event producing gravity waves affecting the local space time frame thereby causing small length changes or strains. These length changes maybe at the level of a few picometers or strains for a gage length of 5 x 10 E6 km of 4 x 10 E-22. The proposed effort would assess these requirements in light of the errors; random and systematic associated with doing ultra high resolution optical interferometry.