Interferometry

Interferometry is a diagnostic and investigative technique that exploits the phenomenon of interference between waves. When two or more waves overlap at a point in space, it is observed that the intensity of the resulting wave at that point may be different from the sum of the intensities of the starting waves. To analyze the resulting wave, or rather, the interference fringes, instruments called interferometers are used.

In particular, laser optical interferometry is a powerful instrument that allows distances, velocities, displacements and vibrations to be measured with extreme accuracy and reproducibility. The technique is therefore compatible with analyses ranging from industrial metrology to space telemetry, from plasma physics to seismology.