A fringe-formation theory for a dual-beam illumination configuration that leads to a twofold increase in sensitivity for the measurement of in-plane displacement is described. Here we have taken into account all four beams simultaneously that are generated at the image plane owing to two-beam illumination and their cross-interference terms for fringe formation. We show that the sensitivity obtainable is the usual interferometric sensitivity when we take into account all four beams simultaneously and doubles only when the retroreflected beams are observed. A detailed theory and an experimental demonstration of the method are presented.
An optical configuration for measurement of in-plane displacement and for contouring is reported. In this method an object point is viewed symmetrically with respect to surface normal and combined coherently at the image plane of the imaging system. Because the beams are combined by small apertures at the image plane, decorrelation sets in rather slowly. Owing to low decorrelation, fringes have been obtained for large in-plane deformations and large angular tilts. The method is simple to implement, and its sensitivity can be varied over a wide range. The configuration, therefore, extends the range of measurement.
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