A METHOD AND A DEVICE FOR HIGH-PRECISION MONITORING OF OPTICAL-SURFACE PROFILES

A method of optical heterodyning in white light has been developed to monitor the distance between reflecting surfaces. It has been used as a basis for creating a high-precision profilometer for efficiently mon itoring height microirregularities on the surface of optical elements. The main errors of the device have been studied. It is shown that thi s profilometer has a sensitivity of 1-2 Angstrom when the scales of th e inhomogeneities of interest (over the field) range from 2 mu m to 15 0 mm. (C) 1997 The Optical Society of American. [S1070-9762(97)00809-9 ].