Technology Opportunities

Interferometric optical sensing is perhaps the method of choice for the measurement of small displacements, refractive index changes and surface irregularities. This technique is applied in a wide array of different disciplines, including the detection of vibrating surfaces, engineering product testing, and medical monitoring. However, in an uncontrolled environment, and more so in applications with a large stand-off, interferometers suffer a major difficulty: the drift in the sensitive "work-point" of the interferometer due to instabilities in the environment or the stand-off distance. The multi-phase interferometer alleviates such difficulties in a low-cost and compact implementation.