We present a Nd:YAG CW laser based second-harmonic interferometer with 60 μm spatial resolution. The interferometer is sensitive to the phase shift between fundamental and second harmonic radiation when passing through a dispersive medium. The device performance is tested by measuring the dispersion induced phase shift of laser etched polymeric films resulting in a sensitivity down to 7×10⁻³ Rad for a detector acquisition time of 300 μs. These results demonstrate the feasibility of high spatial resolution second-harmonic interferometry, and an outlook is given for its use as a novel quantitative phase sensitive imaging technique.

Date Published: 23 May 2013
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 8792, Optical Methods for Inspection, Characterization, and Imaging of Biomaterials, 87921K (23 May 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2020846

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8792:
Optical Methods for Inspection, Characterization, and Imaging of Biomaterials
Pietro Ferraro; Monika Ritsch-Marte; Simonetta Grilli; David Stifter, Editor(s)