OPTICAL CORRELATION DEVICES FOR MEASURING RANDOMLY PHASED OBJECTS

The possibilities of optical diagnostics of random phase objects are s tudied, based on measurements of transverse coherence function, scinti llation index, and amplitude and phase dispersion of the field resulti ng from interaction with the object. The advantages of these methods o ver commonly used methods are increased speed and accuracy. Interferen ce measurements of second- and higher-order correlation parameters of the field phase are demonstrated, which can be used to find the corres ponding probability density distribution function for objects with pha se statistics differing from Gaussian statistics. Also reported are re sults on the structure of phase-inhomogeneous crystals, rough surfaces , and plane-parallel plates.