Methods and apparatus for splitting, imaging, and measuring wavefronts in interferometry
US6552808B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 16, 2001 |
| Grant date | Apr 22, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 16, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01B2290/70
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Apparatus for splitting, imaging, and measuring wavefronts with a reference wavefront and an object wavefront. A wavefront-combining element receives and combines into a combined wavefront an object wavefront from an object and a reference wavefront. A wavefront-splitting element splits the combined wavefront into a plurality of sub-wavefronts in such a way that each of the sub-wavefronts is substantially contiguous with at least one other sub-wavefront. The wavefront-splitting element may shift the relative phase between the reference wavefront and the object wavefront of the sub-wavefronts to yield a respective plurality of phase-shifted sub-wavefronts. The wavefront-splitting element may then interfering the reference and object wavefronts of the phase-shifted sub-wavefronts to yield a respective plurality of phase-shifted interferograms. An imaging element receives and images the phase-shifted interferograms. A computer connected to the imaging element measures various parameters of the objects based on the phase-shifted interferograms. Examples of measurements include flow parameters such as the concentrations of selected gaseous species, temperature distributions, particle an…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.