Three-degree-of-freedom autocollimator based on a combined target reflector

As an angle measuring instrument, the traditional autocollimator has the ability to measure the two-degree-of-freedom angles, namely, pitch and yaw, but fails to measure the roll angle. In this study, we propose a novel autocollimator that can simultaneously measure the three-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) angles. As a key component, a combined target reflector (CTR) is meticulously designed to split the collimated laser beam into two beams. The 3-DOF angle measurement is achieved by sensing the displacements of the two beam spots reflected from the CTR. The measurement principle and simulation analysis are presented in detail. Experiments are conducted to assess the performance of the proposed autocollimator, and the results indicate that it has an accuracy of better than 0.74 arcsec over a range of ±200 arcsec, and it can be used for 3-DOF angular motion error measurement of a precision displacement stage.