Digital phase-stepping holographic interferometry in measuring 2-D density fields

Abstract

This paper presents a holographic interferometer technique for measuring transparent (2-D or quasi 2-D) density fields. To be able to study the realization of such a field at a certain moment of time, the field is “frozen” on a holographic plate. During the reconstruction of the density field from the hologram the length of the path traversed by the reconstruction beam is diminished in equal steps by applying a computer controlled voltage to a piezo-electric crystal that translates a mirror. Four phase-stepped interferograms resulting from this pathlength variation are digitized and serve as input to an algorithm for computing the phase surface. The method is illustrated by measuring the basically 2-D density field existing around a heated horizontal cylinder in free convection.