Interference Patterns Produced By a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer and A multiline HF Laser

Abstract

The fringe pattern produced by a Mach-Zehnder interferometer illuminated with the light from a hydrogen fluoride (HF) laser operating on a large number of laser lines was investigated. Emphasis was placed on the intensity variations of the infrared fringes that are observed when one element of the interferometer is translated, thereby changing the length of one optical path. An intensity maximum similar to 'white-light fringes' is observed when the two arms of the interferometer have equal optical lengths. The experimental results are compared with numerically predicted fringe patterns calculated from the spectral content of the illuminating laser beam. A method is suggested for actively controlling the phases of a number of parallel HF laser amplifiers in high-power phased-array devices.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 10, 1980
Accession Number
ADA085409

Entities

People

  • E. B. Turner
  • J. G. Coffer
  • R. A. Chodzko
  • R. W. Gross
  • W. R. Warren Jr.

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amplifiers
  • Hydrogen Fluoride Lasers
  • Intensity
  • Interferometers
  • Laser Amplifiers
  • Laser Beams
  • Lasers
  • Mach Zehnder Interferometers
  • Phased Arrays
  • White Light

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.
  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics
  • Phased Array Antenna Design.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Directed Energy - Lasers