Coherent Detection in Laser Doppler Velocimeters

The possibility of heterodyning between electromagnetic waves scattered by particles separated in space is explained from a classical point of view and from a quantum mechanical point of view. The last description being carried out using only the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and a rather coarse, but intelligible particle picture of electromagnetic waves. The analysis is carried out with special emphasis on the heterodyning process in the laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) because the main purpose of this article is to provide a better understanding of this instrument. An aid for this purpose is the evaluation of a visual comprehensive interference pattern (Moiré pattern), which furthermore reveals some important features of the optical set-up.