Abstract

A simple closed-loop system for estimating optical phase, called an interference phase loop, is presented. In this system the output intensity from an elementary interferometric phase sensor (e.g., Zernike phase contrast, homodyne, heterodyne, polarization, or shearing interferometer) is detected and used to drive a phase modulator in the path of the wavefront being measured. It is shown theoretically and experimentally that with large gain this configuration ignores amplitude fluctuations and unambiguously estimates phase at high speed over a dynamic range of multiple-π radians. When self-interference (e.g., Zernike phase contrast) is employed, monochromatic light is not required.

© 1979 Optical Society of America

Technique for real-time high-resolution adaptive phase compensation

A. D. Fisher and C. Warde
Opt. Lett. 8(7) 353-355 (1983)

Optical phase measurement in real time

Lee M. Frantz, Alexander A. Sawchuk, and Werner von der Ohe
Appl. Opt. 18(19) 3301-3306 (1979)

Closed-loop adaptive-optics system with a liquid-crystal television as a phase retarder

Rensheng Dou and Michael K. Giles
Opt. Lett. 20(14) 1583-1585 (1995)

Phase-conjugate wavefront generation via real-time holography in Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ crystals

J. P. Huignard, J. P. Herriau, P. Aubourg, and E. Spitz
Opt. Lett. 4(1) 21-23 (1979)

Closed-loop adaptive optical system with a liquid mirror

Gleb Vdovin
Opt. Lett. 34(4) 524-526 (2009)