Photonic integrated circuit distance measuring interferometer

A digital measuring device implemented on a photonic integrated circuit, the digital measuring device comprising:

• a laser source implemented on the photonic integrated circuit and configured to provide light;
• a first waveguide structure implemented on the photonic integrated circuit and configured to direct a first portion of the light from the laser source at a moving object and receive light reflected from the moving object;
• a second waveguide structure implemented on the photonic integrated circuit and configured to combine a second portion of the light from the laser source with the light reflected from the moving object to produce a measurement beam;
• a first multiplexer implemented on the photonic integrated circuit and configured to split the measurement beam into a plurality of channels spaced in frequency;
• and
• a first plurality of detectors implemented on the photonic integrated circuit and configured to detect an intensity value of each channel of the plurality of channels to measure a distance between the digital measuring device and the moving object.