Mirror-based scanning wavefront-folding interferometer for coherence measurements
Atri Halder, Henri Partanen, Aleksi Leinonen, Matias Koivurova, Tommi K. Hakala, Tero Setälä, Jari Turunen, Ari T. Friberg
Abstract
We demonstrate a modification to the traditional prism-based wavefront-folding interferometer that allows the measurement of spatial and temporal coherence, free of distortions and diffraction caused by the prism corners. In our modified system, the two prisms of the conventional system are replaced with six mirrors. The whole system is mounted on a linear <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mi>X</mml:mi> <mml:mi>Y</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> -translation stage, with an additional linear stage in the horizontal arm. This system enables rapid and exact measurement of the full four-dimensional degree of coherence, even for relatively weak signals. The capabilities of our system are demonstrated by measuring the spatial coherence of two inhomogeneous and non-Schell model light sources with distinct characteristics.