Diffraction Lloyd mirror interferometer

Present work describes the principle and realization of diffraction Lloyd's mirror interferometer. In this new system light diffracted from an aperture is divided into two wavefronts which are again superimposed on each other with the help of a Lloyd's mirror. This setup generates two beam interference fringes analogous to that the well known Lloyd's mirror interferometer. It has been shown that these interference fringes can be produced with vertical as well as horizontal polarized incident light. Experimental test results on phase objects using this system are also presented. Further, applications of this interferometer are discussed in various emerging fields. © Optical Society of India 2009.