摘要 |
A parallel plate lateral shearing interferometer allows the shearing plate to oscillate through a small angle periodically causing the interference fringe pattern to translate on a display surface providing an indication of the direction of adjustment required to collimate a beam. At the point of exact collimation the interference pattern changes abrubtly to a blinking pattern of dark and light. In one embodiment the shearing plate is oscillated by a new kind of electronic translator that functions by thermal expansion and contraction, and in another embodiment the shearing plate moves as a pendulum. An alternative embodiment of the translator is also provided for non-oscillatory precision translations. |