Optical Instrumentation

Module 3
 Major types of interferometers and their
applications

• The Michelson Interferometer: Measures

length or displacement
• The Mach–Zehnder Interferometer: Pressure
measurement
• The Sagnac Interferometer: Gyroscope
• The Fabry–Perot Interferometer: Gravitational
wave detection, astronomy
 Fabry- Perot Interferometer
In optics, a Fabry– Pérot interferometer
(FPI) or etalon is typically made of a
transparent plate with two reflecting
surfaces, or two parallel highly
reflecting mirrors. Its transmission
spectrum as a function of wavelength
exhibits peaks of large transmission
corresponding to resonances of the
etalon. It is named after Charles Fabry
and Alfred Perot, who developed the
instrument in 1899. Etalon is from the
French étalon, meaning "measuring
gauge" or "standard".

The heart of the Fabry–Pérot

interferometer is a pair of partially
reflective glass optical flats spaced
micrometers to centimeters apart, with
the reflective surfaces facing each
other.
Arragement
 Fringe from Fabry- Perot Interferometer
• The flats in an interferometer are often made in a wedge
shape to prevent the rear surfaces from producing
interference fringes; the rear surfaces often also have an
anti-reflective coating.
• In a typical system, illumination is provided by a diffuse
source set at the focal plane of a collimating lens. A
focusing lens after the pair of flats would produce an
inverted image of the source if the flats were not present;
all light emitted from a point on the source is focused to a
single point in the system's image plane. In the
accompanying illustration, only one ray emitted from point
A on the source is traced. As the ray passes through the
paired flats, it is multiply reflected to produce multiple
transmitted rays which are collected by the focusing lens
and brought to point A' on the screen. The complete
interference pattern takes the appearance of a set of
concentric rings. The sharpness of the rings depends on
the reflectivity of the flats. If the reflectivity is high,
resulting in a high Q factor, monochromatic light produces
a set of narrow bright rings against a dark background. A Wedge Shape
Fabry–Pérot interferometer with high Q is said to have high
finesse.
 Resolving Power
The ability of an optical instrument or type of film to separate or
distinguish small or closely adjacent images.
For Fabry- Perot interferometer, the resolving
power is given as,

m- Order of interference
F- Coefficient of Finesse
Minimum resolvable wavelength interval
Example
 Applications
• Measurements (Pressure, Strain, etc.)
• To determine the wavelength of light with great
precision.
• A Fabry – Pérot etalon can be used to make a
spectrometer.
• In astronomy
• In gravitational wave detection, a Fabry–Pérot
cavity is used to store photons for almost a
millisecond while they bounce up and down
between the mirrors.
Double slit Experiment
Michelson Interferometer
Variations of Michelson Interferometer
1. The Twyman-Green interferometer is an instrument
used to test optical components such as lenses and
prisms. It was invented and patented by the English
electrical engineer Frank Twyman and the English
chemist Arthur Green in 1916.
Variations of Michelson Interferometer
Working of Twyman- Green Interferometer
• The Twyman-Green interferometer is a variation of the Michelson
interferometer. The Michelson interferometer has a fixed mirror, whereas
the Twyman-Green has a rotatable one. Likewise, the light source is mostly
an extended source in the Michelson interferometer but the Twyman–
Green‘s light source is always a point-like source.
• The Twyman-Green’s light source is a quasi-monochromatic point source
which is collimated by a collimating lens into a plane wave. The plane
wave is then split by a beamsplitter into a reference beam and a test
beam.
• A lens is tested by placing it in the beam path, so that only one of the
interfering beams passes via the test lens. Irregularities in the lens will be
revealed in the resulting interference pattern. Irregularities such as coma,
spherical aberration and astigmatism are clearly revealed as specific
variations in the fringe pattern.
• The Twyman-Green interferometer has thus enabled the creation of
optical systems with an accuracy that is within a fraction of a wavelength.
 Mach–Zehnder interferometer
• The apparatus is named after the physicists Ludwig Mach (the
son of Ernst Mach) and Ludwig Zehnder: Zehnder's proposal
in an 1891 article was refined by Mach in an 1892 article.
Deformation of fringes of equal thickness in
the neighborhood of a candle flame
Working: Mach- Zehnder Interferometer
 Optical Spectrum Analyzer
• Optical spectrum analysis is the measurement of optical
power as a function of wavelength. Applications include
testing laser and LED light sources for spectral purity and
power distribution, as well as testing transmission
characteristics of optical devices.
• The spectral width of a light source is an important
parameter in fiber-optic communication systems due to
chromatic dispersion, which occurs in the fiber and limits
the modulation bandwidth of the system. The effect of
chromatic dispersion can be seen in the time domain as
pulse broadening of a digital waveform. Since chromatic
dispersion is a function of the spectral width of the light
source, narrow spectral widths are desirable for high-speed
communication systems.
 Optical Spectrum Analyzer
• A spectrum analyzer is a device that displays signal amplitude
(strength) as it varies by signal frequency. The frequency appears on
the horizontal axis, and the amplitude is displayed on the vertical
axis.
• To the casual observer, a spectrum analyzer looks like an
oscilloscope, and in fact, some devices can function either as
oscilloscopes or spectrum analyzers.
• A spectrum analyzer measures the magnitude of an input signal
versus frequency within the full frequency range of the instrument.
• Optical spectrum analysis is the measurement of optical power as a
function of wavelength. Applications include testing laser and LED
light sources for spectral purity and power distribution, as well as
testing transmission characteristics of optical devices.
• These devices display the individual elements of optical signals.
Optical Spectrum Analyzer
Spectrum of Spectrum Analyzer
 Working
• The incoming light passes through a wavelength-tunable optical filter
(monochromator or interferometer) which resolves the individual
spectral components. The photodetector then converts the optical signal
to an electrical current proportional to the incident optical power. An
exception to this description is the Michelson interferometer, which is
not actually an optical filter.
• The current from the photodetector is converted to a voltage by the
transimpedance amplifier and then digitized. Any remaining signal
processing, such as applying correction factors, is performed digitally.
The signal is then applied to the display as the vertical, or amplitude,
data. A ramp generator determines the horizontal location of the trace as
it sweeps from left to right. The ramp also tunes the optical filter so that
its resonant wavelength is proportional to the horizontal position. A trace
of optical power versus wavelength results. The displayed width of each
mode of the laser is a function of the spectral resolution of the
wavelength-tunable optical filter.
Interferometer-based optical spectrum analyzers

Fabry-Perot interferometers based OSA

• The Fabry-Perot interferometer consists of two highly reflective,
parallel mirrors that act as a resonant cavity which filters the
incoming light. The resolution of Fabry-Perot interferometer based
optical spectrum analyzers, dependent on the reflection coefficient
of the mirrors and their spacing, is typically fixed, and the
wavelength is varied by changing the spacing between the mirrors
by a very small amount.
• The advantage of the Fabry-Perot interferometer is its very narrow
spectral resolution, which allows it to measure laser chirp. The
major disadvantage is that at any one position multiple wavelengths
will be passed by the filter. (The spacing between these responses is
called the free spectral range.) This problem can be solved by
placing a monochromator in cascade with the Fabry-Perot
interferometer to filter out all power outside the interferometer's
free spectral range about the wavelength of interest.
Fabry-Perot interferometers
based spectrum analyzer

Michelson interferometer based spectrum

analyzer
Michelson interferometer based spectrum analyzer
• The Michelson interferometer, is based on creating an interference
pattern between the signal and a delayed version of itself. The power of
this interference pattern is measured for a range of delay values. The
resulting waveform is the autocorrelation function of the input signal. This
enables the Michelson interferometer-based spectrum analyzer to make
direct measurements of coherence length, as well as very accurate
wavelength measurements. Other types of optical spectrum analyzers
cannot make direct coherence-length measurements.
• To determine the power spectra of the input signal, a Fourier transform is
performed on the autocorrelation waveform. Because no real filtering
occurs, Michelson interferometer-based optical spectrum analyzers
cannot be put in a span of zero nanometers, which would be useful for
viewing the power at a given wavelength as a function of time. This type
of analyzer also tends to have less dynamic range than diffraction-grating-
based optical spectrum analyzers.
 Interference filters
• An interference filter removes the unwanted radiation from a beam
not by absorption, but by reflection. It does not contain any colored
substances but instead a number of partially reflecting and partially
transmitting interfaces. Some interference filters contain very thin
metal films; others are made from alternating layers of transparent
compounds of high and low refractive indices.
• An interference filter may be high-pass, low-pass, band pass, or
band-rejection.
• An interference filter consists of multiple thin layers of dielectric
material having different refractive indices. There also may be
metallic layers. In its broadest meaning, interference filters
comprise also etalons that could be implemented as tunable
interference filters. Interference filters are wavelength-selective by
virtue of the interference effects that take place between the
incident and reflected waves at the thin-film boundaries. The
important characteristic of the filter is the form of the leaving
signal. It is considered that the best form is a rectangle.
• If a thin transparent spacer is placed
between two semi-reflective coatings,
multiple reflections and interference can
be used to select a narrow frequency
band, producing an interference filter. If
the spacer is a half wavelength for the
desired wavelength, then other
wavelengths will be attenuated by
destructive interference. Commercial
filters are available with a half-power
width of about an angstrom. If the back
layer is totally reflective, then the
arrangement is called a dichroic mirror,
reflecting only the selected wavelength.
These devices are designed for normal
incidence, and shift in wavelength to
shorter wavelengths if tilted.
 Applications of Interferometers
• Testing of flatness of optical surfaces
• The angle of beam splitter
• Testing of prism and lens for chromatic
aberrations
• Measurement of thickness of a thin film
• Collimation testing
• Measurement of angle of a wedge etc.
 Testing of optical surfaces
• The optical surfaces are tested either by contact method where the test
surface is put in contact with the master surface (an experimental
arrangement similar to Newton's ring method) or by inserting the test surface
in the path of two beams (experimental arrangement is similar to Michelson
interferometer) and is known as Twyman-Green interferometer).
• In the contact method, the test surface is placed in contact with the master
surface with a tissue paper in between them. The tissue paper is then pulled
out slowly. The two surfaces are now in contact with each other with a small
wedge angle between them. If test surface does not depart significantly from
flat surface, a fringe system is observed with slight distortion at the points
where surface is not smooth. The flatness is given by

where s is the amount by which the fringe is shifted, x is the fringe width and
 is the wavelength of light used. If surface departs considerably from flatness
but is of regular shape (such as concave or convex lens), a circular fringe
pattern is observed. By changing the direction of viewing one can find if the
surface is concave or convex. If the fringes move inward when the angle of
viewing is increased, the surface is concave. If there are N circular fringes, the
surface departs from flatness by N/2 and has a radius of curvature R=d2/N
where ‘2d ' is diameter over which N fringes are observed.
Applications of Interferometers
 Measurement of thickness of thin film
• The thickness of thin film is measured using multiple beam
interferometry. The film is deposited on a substrate such that
it has a step. The film and remaining surface of the substrate
is then coated with aluminum film (by evaporation). Since the
reflection coefficient of both the surfaces are high, multiple
beam fringes in the wedge are obtained. The fringe pattern
from the two area of the surfaces (where there is a film and
where there is no film) , are shifted. This fringe step is used to
measure the thickness of the film.
Pocket Universe
 Gravitational Waves
• Einstein predicted that something special happens
when two bodies—such as planets or stars—orbit each
other. He believed that this kind of movement could
cause ripples in space. These ripples would spread out
like the ripples in a pond when a stone is tossed in.
Scientists call these ripples of space gravitational
waves.
• Gravitational waves are invisible. However, they are
incredibly fast. They travel at the speed of light
(186,000 miles per second). Gravitational waves
squeeze and stretch anything in their path as they pass
by.
 LIGO
Application of Michelson Interferometer
• The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory
(LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to
detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop
gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool.
• Two large observatories were built in the United States with
the aim of detecting gravitational waves by laser
interferometry. These can detect a change in the 4 km mirror
spacing of less than a ten-thousandth the charge diameter of
a proton, equivalent to measuring the distance from Earth to
Proxima Centauri (4.0208×1013 km) with an accuracy smaller
than the width of a human hair
The LIGO Livingston control room as it was during
Advanced LIGO's first observing run
• LIGO's observatories are technically known as
interferometers. Used in many scientific fields,
interferometers merge two or more sources of light in
order to create an interference pattern. Such patterns
result from overlapping waves of light. When the peaks
of two waves of light overlap, they combine to form a
larger peak (constructive interference). In contrast,
when the valley of one light wave overlaps with the
peak of another light wave, the two waves cancel each
other out (destructive interference). Interference
patterns provide scientists with clues about the
properties of the sources that emitted the light.
THANKS