Moire interferometry for engineering mechanics: current practices and future developments

In the past decade, the optical method called moire interferometry has matu red rapidly to emerge as an invaluable tool, proved by many industrial and scientific applications. It has been applied to numerous problems in engine ering mechanics. It measures in-plane displacement fields with high sensiti vity and high spatial resolution. This paper reviews current practices of m oire interferometry and its extensions. Applications in diverse fields are addressed to demonstrate the wide applicability of the method, especially t he recent applications for thermal deformation analyses of microelectronics devices. Speculation on future developments and practices is presented.