Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

$Interference and Diffraction$ 02:18

Interference and Diffraction

Interference is a characteristic phenomenon exhibited by waves. When two electromagnetic waves interact with their peaks and troughs coinciding, a resulting wave with enhanced amplitude is produced. This is known as constructive interference. In this case, the two waves interacting are in phase with each other.

Interference and Superposition of Waves

Interference and Superposition of Waves

When two waves of the same nature occur in the same region simultaneously, they result in interference. Interference of waves implies that the net effect of the waves is the sum of the individual waves' effects. However, it does not imply that the individual waves affect the propagation of other waves.
Interference occurs in mechanical waves, such as sound waves, waves on a string, and surface water waves. Mechanical waves correspond to the physical displacement of particles. Hence,...

Fast Fourier Transform

Fast Fourier Transform

The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is a computational algorithm designed to compute the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) efficiently. By breaking down the calculations into smaller, manageable sections, the FFT significantly reduces the computational complexity involved. Direct computation of an N-point DFT requires N2 complex multiplications, whereas the FFT algorithm needs only (N/2)log⁡2N multiplications, offering a much faster performance.
The computational efficiency of the FFT becomes...

Reconstruction of Signal using Interpolation

Reconstruction of Signal using Interpolation

Signal processing techniques are essential for accurately converting continuous signals to digital formats and vice versa. When a continuous signal is sampled with a period T, the resulting sampled signal exhibits replicas of the original spectrum in the frequency domain, spaced at intervals equal to the sampling frequency. To handle this sampled signal, a zero-order hold method can be applied, which creates a piecewise constant signal by retaining each sample's value until the next sampling...

Propagation of Waves

Propagation of Waves

When a wave propagates from one medium to another, part of it may get reflected in the first medium, and part of it may get transmitted to the second medium. In such a case, the interface of the two mediums can be considered as a boundary that is neither fixed nor free.
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...

Interference: Path Lengths

Interference: Path Lengths

Consider two sources of sound, that may or may not be in phase, emitting waves at a single frequency, and consider the frequencies to be the same.
Two special sources may be considered when they are in phase. This can be easily achieved by feeding the two sources from the same source. An example would be synchronizing the two speakers by feeding them with the same source, such as the sound waves produced by a tuning fork. This setup ensures that the two sources have the same frequency and are...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Rough surface interferometry at 10.6 microm.

Applied optics·2010

Same author

Zernike-Tatian polynomials for interferogram reduction.

Applied optics·2010

Same author

Infrared point diffraction interferometer.

Optics letters·2009

Same journal

Multifunctional reconfigurable terahertz metasurface based on vanadium dioxide phase transition: achieving broadband absorption and efficient polarization conversion.

Applied optics·2026

Same journal

High-Q-factor electromagnetically induced transparency utilizing quasi-bound states in the continuum in an all-dielectric terahertz metasurface.

Applied optics·2026

Same journal

Automated stitching interferometry for high-precision metrology of X-ray mirrors.

Applied optics·2026

Same journal

Experimental demonstration of an approach to designing a metal-dielectric DBR resonant cavity structure.

Applied optics·2026

Same journal

High-precision wavefront reconstruction from a single-shot interferogram using a physics-driven hybrid feature calibration network.

Applied optics·2026

Same journal

Ultra-high-Q Fano resonance based on coupled topological corner states in Kagome photonic crystals.

Applied optics·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

A Multimodal Wide-Field Fourier-Transform Raman Microscope

A Multimodal Wide-Field Fourier-Transform Raman Microscope

Published on: December 30, 2025

Wave front derivation from interferograms by three computer programs.

C R Hayslett, W H Swantner

|March 18, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study compares three interferogram reduction computer programs. Results show differences in accuracy based on global or local surface fitting methods used in optical testing.

More Related Videos

Determining 3D Flow Fields via Multi-camera Light Field Imaging

Determining 3D Flow Fields via Multi-camera Light Field Imaging

Published on: March 6, 2013

Time Multiplexing Super Resolving Technique for Imaging from a Moving Platform

Time Multiplexing Super Resolving Technique for Imaging from a Moving Platform

Published on: February 12, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 15, 2026

A Multimodal Wide-Field Fourier-Transform Raman Microscope

A Multimodal Wide-Field Fourier-Transform Raman Microscope

Published on: December 30, 2025

Determining 3D Flow Fields via Multi-camera Light Field Imaging

Determining 3D Flow Fields via Multi-camera Light Field Imaging

Published on: March 6, 2013

Time Multiplexing Super Resolving Technique for Imaging from a Moving Platform

Time Multiplexing Super Resolving Technique for Imaging from a Moving Platform

Published on: February 12, 2014

Area of Science:

Optical Engineering
Computational Physics

Background:

Interferograms are crucial for optical surface metrology.
Accurate reduction of interferogram data is essential for quality control in optics manufacturing.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare the performance of three distinct computer programs for interferogram data reduction.
To evaluate algorithms based on global and local surface fitting techniques.

Main Methods:

Developed and implemented three computer programs at White Sands Missile Range.
Utilized global surface fitting with Zernike polynomials.
Employed local surface fitting through quadratic interpolation of nearby data points.

Main Results:

Quantitative comparison of interferogram reduction results from the three programs.
Analysis of accuracy differences between global, local, and combined fitting approaches.
Identification of strengths and weaknesses of each algorithm for specific interferometric applications.

Conclusions:

The choice of surface fitting algorithm significantly impacts interferogram reduction accuracy.
Global fitting (Zernike polynomials) and local fitting (quadratic interpolation) offer different advantages.
Combined approaches may provide a balance of accuracy and computational efficiency for optical testing.