title: Experimental comparison of a liquid-crystal point-diffraction interferometer (LCPDI) and a commercial phase-shifting interferometer and methods to improve LCPDI accuracy.
abstract: We compare the phase measurements of a fused-silica witness sample made with a liquid-crystal point-diffraction interferometer (LCPDI) with measurements made with a Zygo Mark IV xp phase-shifting interferometer and find close agreement. Two phase-shift-error sources in the LCPDI that contribute to measurement discrepancies are frame-to-frame intensity changes caused by the dichroism of the dye and alignment distortions of the host liquid crystal. An empirical model of the phase-shift error caused by the host alignment distortions is presented and used to investigate the performance of two different phase-detection algorithms. It is suggested that by proper choice of LCPDI fabrication parameters and phase-acquisition methods, the device's accuracy can be significantly improved.
authors.affiliation: Labaoratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, New York 14623-1299, USA. guar@lle.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Guardalben
authors.forename: Lutao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.forename: Nieraj
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Devon J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Battaglia
authors.forename: Kenneth L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Marshall