Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This book is for those who have some knowledge of optics, but little or no previous experience in interferometry. Accordingly, the carefully designed presentation helps readers easily find and assimilate the interferometric techniques they need for precision measurements. Mathematics is held to a minimum, and the topics covered are also summarized in capsule overviews at the beginning and end of each chapter. Each chapter also contains a set of worked problems that give a feel for numbers.
The first five chapters present a clear tutorial review of fundamentals. Chapters six and seven discuss the types of lasers and photodetectors used in interferometry. The next eight chapters describe key applications of interferometry: measurements of length, optical testing, studies of refractive index fields, interference microscopy, holographic and speckle interferometry, interferometric sensors, interference spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform spectroscopy. The final chapter offers suggestions on choosing and setting up an interferometer.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Interference: A Primer
• Two-Beam Interferometers
• Light Sources
• Multiple-Beam Interference
• The Laser as a Light Source
• Detectors
• Measurements of Length
• Optical Testing
• Digital Techniques
• Macro- and Micro-Interferometry
• Holographic and Speckle Interferometry
• Interferometric Sensors
• Interferences Spectroscopy
• Fourier-Transform Spectroscopy
• Choosing an Interferometer
• Index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Hariharan gives a snapshot review of optical interferometry in a brief descriptive introduction to those seeking an overview of the subject. No mathematical derivations are included, but some background in optics is needed. The book can be divided into two parts: the first covers fundamentals of optical interferometry along with a discussion on sources and detectors useful for its practice; the second surveys application areas including holography, spectroscopy, and sensing. Each chapter contains a set of worked examples intended to provide a feel for numbers and to reinforce important concepts. Relevant topics are presented in an extended list of appendixes. The book is well illustrated; there are references for further reading. No problems are given. For a more advanced treatment of the subject, another work by Hariharan, Optical Interferometry (1985), would be suitable. Advanced undergraduates and up. O. Eknoyan; Texas A & M University

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Professor P. Hariharan is a Research Fellow in the Division of Telecommunications and Industrial Physics of CSIRO in Sydney and a Visiting Professor at the University of Sydney. His main research interests are interferometry and holography. He is a Fellow of SPIE (The International Society for Optical Engineering), the Optical Society of America (OSA), the Institute of Physics, London, and the Royal Photographic Society. He was a vice-president and then the treasurer of the International Commission of Optics, as well as a director of SPIE. Honors he has received include OSA's Joseph Fraunhofer Award, the Henderson Medal of the Royal Photographic Society, the Thomas Young Medal of the Institute of Physics, London, SPIE's Dennis Gabor Award and, most recently, SPIE's highest award, the Gold Medal.