Interferometric device for recording the depth optical reflection and/or transmission characteristics of an object

US6268921A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• CSEM Centre Suisse d'Electronique de Microtechnique SA · FR

Inventors

• Peter Seitz · Munich, DE
• Stéphane Bourquin · Zürich, CH
• René Salathe · Ecublens, CH

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 10, 1999
• Grant date: Jul 31, 2001
• Expiry date: Sep 10, 2019

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01B2290/45
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A tomographic interferometer device in which a spectral light source lights an object to create an object beam originating from that object. A stepped optical block is also exposed to the source to create a plurality of individual reference beams having different path lengths. The object beam and reference beams are made to interfere and the resulting light is sent to an array of side by side photodetectors. A plurality of lenses steer the light generated by the interference of each of the individual reference beams with the object beam to different photodetector cells of the array for generating a tomographic image of the object