Unexpected mechanical vibrations can significantly degrade the otherwise high accuracy of phase-shifting interferometry. Fourier analysis of phase-shift algorithms is shown to provide the analytical means of predicting measurement errors as a function of the frequency, the phase, and the amplitude of vibrations. The results of this analysis are concisely represented by a phase-error transfer function, which may be multiplied by the noise spectrum to predict the response of an interferometer to various forms of vibration. Analytical forms for the phase error are derived for several well-known algorithms, and the results are supported by numerical simulations and experiments with an interference microscope.

© 1995 Optical Society of America

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