Abstract

Lau fringes formed in the far field of a pair of gratings illuminated by spatially incoherent light are known to disappear when one grating is rotated slightly $\left(\pm 3^{°}\right)$ with respect to the other. We observed that a cylindrical lens that was appropriately rotated could restore the high-contrast Lau fringes by bringing together the rays that are coherent with respect to each other. We have developed a new refractometer based on this phenomenon, the details of which are presented. Measurement of the cylinder power and axis of the human eye is possible with good accuracy and repeatability with this instrument.

© 2002 Optical Society of America

High-contrast white-light Lau fringes

J. Lancis, G. Mínguez-Vega, E. Tajahuerce, V. Climent, P. Andrés, and Z. Jaroszewicz
Opt. Lett. 29(2) 150-152 (2004)

Peripheral refractive errors in myopic, emmetropic, and hyperopic young subjects

Anne Seidemann, Frank Schaeffel, Antonio Guirao, Noberto Lopez-Gil, and Pablo Artal
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 19(12) 2363-2373 (2002)

Role of spatial coherence on the rotation sensitivity of Lau fringes: an experimental study

Sundergopal Chitralekha, Kodikullam V. Avudainayagam, and Sastry V. Pappu
Appl. Opt. 28(2) 345-349 (1989)

Sensitivity of Lau fringes to grating rotation: theoretical analysis

Sundergopal Chitralekha, Kodikullam V. Avudainayagam, and Sastry V. Pappu
Appl. Opt. 29(1) 125-128 (1990)

Measurement of temperature profile of a gaseous flame with a Lau phase interferometer that has circular gratings

Madhuri Thakur, A. L. Vyas, and Chandra Shakher
Appl. Opt. 41(4) 654-657 (2002)