Second-harmonic interferometry with high spatial resolution: A robust method towards quantitative phase imaging of transparent dispersive materials

Year: 2013

Authors: Brandi F., Conti F., Tiberi M., Giammanco F., Diaspro A.

Autors Affiliation: Dipartimento di Nanofisica, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova, Italy;
Dipartimento di Fisica E.Fermi, Universit`a Degli Studi di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy;
Plasma Diagnostics and Technologies Ltd., via Roma 30, 56127 Pisa, Italy

Abstract: 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.

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More Information: – The Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
KeyWords: Second-harmonic interferometer; Dispersion interferometer; Phase dispersion; Phase contrast