The Leica Absolute Interferometer

Leica Geosystems was the first laser tracker manufacturer to put an ADM into a laser tracker. The introduction of the LTD500 in 1995 revolutionized the way that laser trackers were used. If the beam was interrupted the operator no longer had to return to a known location to “reset” the IFM distance. The ADM could do it automatically. ADMs quickly became the de facto standard, andwithin a few years all of the major laser tracker manufacturers had brought some form of ADM technology to market, but Leica Geosystems always remained the accuracy leader.

In the ideal world, a laser tracker would combine the ability to instantly re-establish a broken laser beam and immediately start measuring a moving target. At the same time, it would measure absolute distances with the highest precision and would be arbitrarily fast with near zero integration times (the time required to determine the target’s position). Until now, no single distancing unit was capable of this. As a result, laser tracker manufacturers were forced to use both laser interferometers (IFM) and Absolute Distance Meters (ADM) separately.

The IFM and ADM core technologies have been used for more than a decade in our laser trackers around the world. These core technologies have been improved and combined to create what we have dubbed the “Absolute Interferometer” or AIFM, and represent the most accurate and stable dynamic distancing unit that we have ever created. The AIFM truly changes the way that laser trackers are used. The AIFM combines the best of both worlds. It provides a leading edge solution to an age old problem, but does so using mature technology.