Abstract

A compact holographic interferometer that uses a photorefractive crystal of the sillenite family as holographic recording medium is presented. It was developed to provide high accuracy displacement measurements of scattering objects, together with a high degree of flexibility, portability and versatility in function of the application. We briefly discuss the main technical aspects leading to a compact device. We present a couple of recent applications, among which the coefficient of thermal expansion of composite structures is measured, piezosheets calibration and fingerprint detection.

© 2001 Optical Society of America