The principles for the realization of rewritable point-diffraction interferometers (PDIs) based on photochromic polyurethane films are described. Pinholes of variable sizes (diameter from 4 to 40 μm) have been optically written onto photochromic substrates converting locally the material from the colored to the uncolored form. The PDIs have been mounted in an interferometric setup and different reflective optics have been tested. By a controlled bleaching of the semi-transparent area around the pinhole, an optimal visibility in the interferograms is reached. Under this conditions several tests of reliability of the interferometer have been carried out.

Date Published: 13 September 2012
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 8450, Modern Technologies in Space- and Ground-based Telescopes and Instrumentation II, 84500Y (13 September 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.926096

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8450:
Modern Technologies in Space- and Ground-based Telescopes and Instrumentation II
Ramón Navarro; Colin R. Cunningham; Eric Prieto, Editor(s)