Asymmetric lateral coherence allows precise wavefront characterization

Abstract

We describe a novel interferometric method for reconstructing a wavefront with high accuracy. By exploiting a proper scan of a double-slit array we experimentally show that the oscillations in the 2-dimensional map of the asymmetric lateral coherence are locally dilated or contracted as a function of the wavefront curvature, which produces a phase modulation of the real part of the complex degree of coherence. The proposed method can be used for high-resolution wavefront reconstruction from microwaves to X-rays.