The optical path difference (OPD) and amplitude of a sinusoidal wavelength scanning (SWS) are controlled with a double feedback control system in an interferometer, so that a ruler marking every wavelength and a ruler with scales smaller than a wavelength are generated. These two rulers enable us to measure an OPD longer than a wavelength. A liquid-crystal Fabry-Perot interferometer (LC-FPI) is adopted as a wavelength-scanning device, and double sinusoidal phase modulation is incorporated in the SWS interferometer. Because of a high resolution of the LC-FPI, the upper limit of the measurement range can be extended to 280 μm by the use of the phase lock where the amplitude of the SWS is doubled in the feedback control. The ruler marking every wavelength is generated between 80 μm and 280 μm, and distances are measured with a high accuracy of the order of a nanometer in real time. © 2007 Optical Society of America.