  The present paper describes the experimental implementation of a measuring
technique employing a slowly moving, near resonant, optical standing wave in
the context of trapped ions. It is used to measure several figures of merit
that are important for quantum computation in ion traps and which are otherwise
not easily obtainable. Our technique is shown to offer high precision, and also
in many cases using a much simpler setup than what is normally used. We
demonstrate here measurements of i) the distance between two crystalline ions,
ii) the Lamb-Dicke parameter, iii) temperature of the ion crystal, and iv) the
interferometric stability of a Raman setup. The exact distance between two
ions, in units of standing wave periods, is very important for motional
entangling gates, and our method offers a practical way of calibrating this
distance in the typical lab situation.
