Interferometry

What is Interferometry?

What is an Interferometer?

Interferometry is a technique ...

... of using the principles of splitting the electromagnetic wave into partial waves through reflection and refraction and uniting these partial waves after the two beams have passed equal paths. Interferometry is inextricably linked with the name of Albert A. Michelson. His interferometer opened a new world of scientific observation and measurement. This instrument is a classic example of symmetry, and apparent simplicity. The invention of the laser marked the beginning of the triumphant advance of this technology. Today, interferometric measurement methods are among the most accurate methods in metrology.

Interferometers produce the beautiful patterns of bright and dark interference fringes.

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Today, Michelson’s legacy is everywhere: They are just as indispensable for the manufacture of integrated circuits as for the production of precision optics or for the traceability of the SI unit "the meter".

Applications range from stellar interferometers to search the universe, to interference microscopes, to X-ray and atomic interferometers to explore the secrets of atoms, photons and quantum effects.