We demonstrate matter-wave interference in a warm vapor of rubidium atoms. Established approaches to light-pulse atom interferometry rely on laser cooling to concentrate a large ensemble of atoms into a velocity class resonant with the atom optical light pulse. In our experiment, we show that clear interference signals may be obtained without laser cooling. This effect relies on the Doppler sel...

We demonstrate that high-order harmonics generated by short, intense laser pulses in gases provide an interesting radiation source for extreme ultraviolet interferometry, since they are tunable, coherent, of short pulse duration, and simple to manipulate. Harmonics from the 9th to the 15th are used to measure the thickness of an aluminum layer. The 11th harmonic is used to determine the spatial...

The physical mechanisms driving the collimation of dense plasma jets created by low-energy ( approximately 0.6 J) laser pulse irradiation of triangular grooves were studied for different target materials using soft-x-ray interferometry and hydrodynamic code simulations. The degree of collimation of jets created by irradiating C, Al, Cu, and Mo targets at intensities of I=1x10(12) W cm(-2) with ...

Optical feedback interferometry (OFI) applied to microscale flow sensing is studied theoretically and experimentally. A new model is investigated that predicts the OFI signal. This model is based on the Lang-Kobayashi equations and highlights the importance of the laser beam propagation and the laser-particle scattering performances. For the first time, the angle distribution of the scattered l...

We report on the initial results of experiments being developed on the Falcon laser to simulate radiative astrophysical shocks. Cylindrically diverging blast waves were produced in low-density ( approximately 1018 cm-3), high-Z gas by laser-irradiating Xe gas jets containing atomic clusters. The blast-wave trajectory was measured by Michelson interferometry. The velocity for the blast wave is s...

A laser radar using an array of heterodyne detectors offers the possibility of fine resolution angleangle imaging. The heterodyne measurements, however, are subject to phase errors due to atmospheric turbulence and mechanical misalignment. A method is described that employs digital shearing of the heterodyne measurements as a means to remove phase errors. By this method large phase errors can b...

The review paper will describe the present state of holographic and speckle techniques as applied to industrial measurement. The basic principles of both techniques will be outlined with special attention given to their advantages and limitations. Current developments in the field will then be described including the t~stlng of rotating automobile tyres by holographic interferometry and a heter...

Digital shearograohy has demonstrated great potential in revealing defects in objects especially in detecting delaminations in composite materials. It is gaining more and more acceptance by automotive and aerospace industries in the field of nondestructive testing (NDT) of composite materials. A key optical component used in shearography is a shearing device in which the shearing amount, sheari...

In recent years, optical interferometry-based techniques have been widely used to perform noncontact measurement of dynamic deformation in different industrial areas. In these applications, various physical quantities need to be measured in any instant and the Nyquist sampling theorem has to be satisfied along the time axis on each measurement point. Two types of techniques were developed for s...

A common way to measure submicroscopic motion of the organ of Corti is heterodyne interferometry. The depth over which vibration can be accurately measured with heterodyne interferometry is determined by both the optics, which controls to what extent light from nonfocal planes reaches the photodetectors, and demodulation electronics, which determines to what extent signal generated by out-of-fo...