Phase Shift and Visibility Variations Caused by the Reflection from the Second Surface of Beam Splitters in Two Beam Interferometry (Michelson)

摘要

The beam incident on an interferometer can undergo several internal re flections in the beam splitter and compensator, and produce several emerging beams. The general properties of these beams are discussed and equations are derived for calculating their intensity and visibility from the reflection and transmission coefficients of the beam splitter. These satellite beams change the visibility and phase of the resultant interferogram and equations are given for calculating the maximum changes. The variations that are observed will depend on how the interferometer is used; if it is kept under very stable conditions the observed variations will be small and there will be little effect on wavelength shift work and line profile studies. However, even under these conditions the maximum variations still apply to measurements carried out over a large wavelength range, whether they are wavelength measurements or fourier transform spectroscopy. (Author)