You've no doubt heard of interferometric testing and all the wonderful things it can do to solve your measurement problems. You may have attended an introduction to interferometry or been shopping for an instrument. But how do you get started? How do you determine which type of interferometer will solve your problem? Do you make your own or buy a commercial instrument? Once you've got an instrument how can you be sure you aligned it correctly and are getting the best data you can for your measurement problem? This intermediate-level course offers an overview of the fundamentals of interferometric testing and the analysis of interferometric fringe patterns applicable to many different areas of interferometry, optical testing, nondestructive testing, and metrology. It is geared towards technically minded types who have had some exposure to the basics of interferometry and want to find out more about the practical nuts and bolts of using interferometry as a tool. We will begin with an overview of the basic fundamentals of interferometry including formation of interference fringes for different types of sources, fringe visibility and how fringes relate to basic properties of the object being tested. We then will cover common interferometer types and phase modulation techniques, essentials for creating, detecting and digitizing fringes, alignment and environmental considerations and calibration. Throughout this course real-world problems will be used as examples. The second half of the class will focus on these same questions from the aspect of fringe analysis techniques. We will outline the basic techniques and then brainstorm how you determine whether you got good data and how you would begin if you were analyzing your own raw fringe data. During this discussion common pitfalls and sources of errors will be pointed out to help streamline your process of getting up and running to take your own measurements. Attendees are encouraged to bring along their real-world problems and offer them as starting points for our discussion.

This short course introduces the field of interferometric optical testing. Topics covered include basic interferometers for optical testing, and concepts of phase-shifting interferometry including error analysis. Long wavelength interferometry, testing of aspheric surfaces, measurement of surface microstructure, and the state-of-the-art of direct phase measurement interferometers are also discussed.