A simple Michelson interferometer

This was an attempt to make a very simple, cheap, but otherwise usable Michelson interferometer for some basic experiments.

BOM:

• 1x 650 nm diode laser (here’s the 30 pack I used from Amazon)

• 2x “craft” 25x25mm square mirrors (I used these from Amazon)

• 1x 50-50 beam splitter (I used this one from Amazon)

• 6x M3x10 thumbscrews (normal M3x10 screws will do in a pinch)

• 6x M3 nuts

• 4x 4x10mm tension springs

• 8x 4x10mm steel rods (these could be printed instead)

All of these are available on Amazon (USA).

Prints necessary:

• 1x "printable_assembly"

• 2x "mirror_mount"

Print settings:

• Printed in PLA (though anything relatively stiff will do, incl. PETG, ASA, ABS, etc.)

• Default infill (15% suffices)

• No supports

• No brim

The build is very simple:

1. Superglue the mirrors onto the mirror mounts

2. Place the M3 nuts in the holders

3. Place the rods + springs into the required positions on the kinematic mirror mount (which should attach the mirror mounts to the assembly)

4. Add the thumbscrews

5. Add the laser

6. Turn on the laser (remember to never have your eyes level with the laser; please be safe and use the lowest reasonable power)

7. Align the beams until you see fringes

8. Have fun :)

As usual, with anything that uses lasers, always practice basic laser safety.

Much more information is available at:

https://guille.site/posts/3d-printed-michelson/

CAD files (made in build123d) can be found at

https://github.com/angeris/cad-repo/tree/master/michelson_interferometer