Abstract

The Michelson stellar interferometer (MSI)[1] is used for measuring the shape of planar objects which emit quasi-monochromatic, spatially incoherent light. Its principle of operation is based on measuring interference patterns obtained by two pinholes of the Young experiment. The fringes’ visibility, and phase, versus the gap between the pinholes is equal to the complex degree of coherence. According to Van Cittert-Zernike theorem, the complex degree of coherence is proportional to the Fourier transform of the source’s intensity distribution[1]. Thus, measuring the complex degree of coherence versus pinholes separation and performing inverse Fourier transform yield the image distribution of the source.

© 1996 Optical Society of America