Effects of unparallel grating planes in Talbot interferometry. II

The properties of the moire fringes in Talbot interferometry are analyzed f or a small inclined angle beta between the two grating planes, which is pro duced by rotation of the beam splitter grating about the axis perpendicular to the lines of the sating. Theoretical analyses indicate that the tilt an gle of the resultant moire fringes is less sensitive to beta than when the small inclined angle is formed by rotation of the beam splitter grating abo ut the axis parallel to the lines direction of the grating as described ear lier [Appl. Opt. 38, 4111 (1999)] and that contrast of the moire fringes de creases with an increase in beta or in the spatial frequency of the grating and may result in impaired measurement accuracy. The validity of the theor etical analyses is illustrated by experiments. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America.