Faculty Notes on Interferometry

Prabhakar Shinde
Asst. Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune
Mobile No. – 9130450655
 Definition : Interferometry
• It is a techniques in which electromagnetic
waves are superimposed in order to extract
information about the waves.
 Interferometry : Fields of Applications

• Surface Profiling
• Engineering Metrology
• Mechanical Stress/Strain Measurement
• Astronomy
• Spectroscopy
• Fiber Optics
• Optical Metrology
• Oceanography
Interferometry : Fields of Applications
• Seismology
• Quantum Mechanics
• Nuclear and Particle Physics
• Plasma Physics
• Remote Sensing
• Bimolecular Interactions
• Microfluidics
 What is Interferometer?
• It is a device that separates a beam of light into two
ray beams and brings the rays together to produce
interference.

• The instrument used for making measurements using

Interferometry technique is called an interferometer

• Instruments designed to measure interference are

known as interferometers.
 What is Interference?
• When two light waves interact with each
other, the wave effect leads to a phenomenon
called interference of light.

• In Physics, Interference is what happens when

two waves carrying energy meet up and
overlap.
 What is Interference?
• The energy carried by two waves mixed up together so,
instead of two waves, you get a third wave whose
shape and size depends on the patterns of the original
two waves. When waves combine like this, the process
is called superposition.
 Types of Interference

Constructive interference means combining two or more waves to get a third wave
that's bigger. The new wave has the same wavelength and frequency but more
amplitude (higher peaks).

Destructive interference means waves subtracting and cancelling out. The peaks in
one wave are cancelled by the troughs in the other.
 OPTICAL INTERFERENCE

The two rays, A and B, are in phase at the

origin O,
yR = yA + yB.

When the two rays are in phase, the resultant amplitude is maximum and the intensity of
light is also maximum

The two rays, A and B, are out of

phase by 180° at the origin O,
yR = yA - yB.

When the two rays are out of phase, the resultant amplitude is less and combination
of the two waves no longer produces maximum illumination

However, if the two rays are out of phase, say by an amount δ, then the resultant wave
will have an amplitude yR = (yA + yB) cos δ /2.
 Formation of fringes

Let us consider two monochromatic light rays from two point sources, A
and B, which have the same origin.
• At point O1 as the distances AO1 and BO1 are equal, the two rays are in
phase, resulting in maximum illumination at point O1.
• At point O2, the distance BO2 is longer than the distance AO2. Therefore,
by the time the two rays arrive at point O2, they are out of phase.
Assuming that the phase difference δ = /2, where is the wavelength of
light, complete interference occurs, forming a dark spot.
• At point O3 on the screen, the distance BO3 is longer than AO3. If the
difference between the two distances, that is, BO3 − AO3, is equal to an
even number of half wavelengths the two light rays arriving at O3 will be
in phase, leading to the formation of a bright spot.
 Fringes
• Pattern of alternate bright and dark areas is known as
fringes.
• The dark areas will occur whenever the path difference
of A and B amounts to an odd number of half
wavelengths
• The bright areas will occur when the path difference
amounts to an even number of half wavelengths.
 What is optical flat ?
• An optical flat is a precisely polished flat surface, used as
a reference against which the flatness of an unknown
surface may be compared.

• Optical flats are cylindrical in form with the working

surfaces flat
 Optical Flat
• The cylindrical surfaces of the optical flats are
finished by grinding and the working surfaces are
finished by lapping and polishing process.

• Their edges are generally bevelled to 45° by a

suitable grinding or polishing process so that
the edges are free from any chips.

• Sizes of optical flats vary from 25 to 300 mm in

diameter, with a thickness ranging from 25 to 50
mm.
 Types of Optical Flat
A) Based on working Surface
a. Type A—It has only one surface flat.
b. Type B—It has both the surfaces flat and parallel to
each other
B) Based on accuracy (i.e. tolerance on flatness,
parallelism and thickness ) of Optical Flat
a. Reference Grade or Grade I
b. Working Grade or Grade II.
 Designation of Optical Flat
• The accuracy of an optical flat is measured in
fractions of a reference wavelength of He- Ne
light , 632.8nm.
• A /20 flat will have a maximum peak to valley
deviation of 632.8/20 or 31.64nm.
• Base on accuracy of optical flat, it is
designated as /4, /10, /20 etc.
 Material of optical flat
• Quartz (i.e. Fused Silica)
• Borosilicate glass
• Typical Characteristics of such material
– Very low thermal coefficient of expansion
– Highly durable
– Good resistance to abrasion
 Application of Optical Flat
It is versatile optical component which is used in
many applications such as
1. Measurement of the surface flatness of polished
surfaces
2. Inspection of gauge blocks ( Slip Gauges) for
wear and accuracy
3. Testing of various components including
windows, prisms, filters, mirrors, etc.
4. Optical flats are given optical coating and used
as precision mirrors
Checking Surface of Anvil End of Micrometer
 Types of Light Sources
• Tungsten Lamp ( Preferred Light Source)
• Mercury
• Mercury 198
• Cadmium
• Krypton 86
• Thallium
• Sodium
• Helium
• Neon
• Gas Lasers
Fringe formation in an optical flat
Fringe formation in an optical flat
Fringe formation in an optical flat
 Use of Optical Flat
• When an optical flat's polished surface is placed
in contact with a surface to be tested, dark and
light bands will be formed when viewed with
monochromatic light.
• These bands are known as interference fringes
and their shape gives a visual representation of
the flatness of the surface being tested.
• The surface accuracy is indicated by the amount
of curve and spacing between the interference
fringes.
Fringe patterns and the resulting
surface conditions
 Interpretation of Fringes

Case A: The surface is flat from lower right to upper left, but slight curvature of fringes
away from the line of contact indicates that it is slightly concave
Case B: The surface is flat in the direction that the fringes run. However, it is higher
diagonally across the centre, where the fringes are more widely spaced, than at the ends.
Case C: Circular fringes with decreasing diameters indicate the surface to be spherical. By
applying a small pressure at the centre of the fringes, if the fringes are found to move
towards the centre, the surface is concave. On the other hand, if the fringes move away
from the centre, the surface is convex.
Case D: Parallel, straight, and uniformly spaced fringes indicate a flat surface.
 Inference from Fringe
• Straight, parallel, and evenly spaced
interference fringes indicate that the work
surface flatness is equal to or higher than that
of the reference surface.
Test for Convex Surface
How to recognize surface is Concave or
Convex ?
• By light pressure, the centre of fringes is
displaced and the fringes are brought
closer, it is convex (hill) surface.
• If by light pressure the number of fringes is
reduced and the fringes move apart, it is
concave (valley) surface.
Fringe Pattern
Fringe Pattern
Fringe Pattern : Flat Surface
Fringe Pattern : Spherical Surface
Fringe Pattern :Cylindrical Surface
 Care in the use of Optical Flat
• Before using optical flat, it should be ensured that both flat
and work piece are clean and free from dirt, dust, oil or
finger prints.
• Optical flat should never be wrung on workpiece because it
scratches too readily.
• It should be rested carefully on the workpiece.
• Optical flat should never be slid over workpiece but lifted
from it.
• If interference bands are not good, flat should be lifted and
set down again, applying vertical finger pressure at various
locations on the upper surface to obtain satisfactory bands.

Note : If interference bands do not appear, it may be due to

presence of dust or dirt between flat and workpiece or by
lack of sufficient polish on the work to reflect the light.
Height measurement using an optical
flat
Numerical Problem
 Numerical Problem

• Figure illustrates the use of an optical flat to check the height of the
slip gauge against a standard gauge of 20 mm height. The
wavelength of a cadmium light source is 0.509 m. If the number of
fringes on a gauge width of 15 mm is 10 and the distance between
the two blocks is 30 mm, calculate the true height of the gauge
being inspected.
Michelson Interferometer
NPL Flatness Interferometer
mercury vapor lamp
NPL Flatness Interferometer
Measuring Error in Parallelism using
NPL Flatness Interferometer
Laser interferometer
 Laser interferometer
• Laser interferometers are used to calibrate
machine tables, slides, and axis movements of
coordinate measuring machines.
• The equipment is portable and provides a very
high degree of accuracy and precision.