ABSTRACT
Optical interference corresponds to the interaction of two or more electromagnetic waves yielding a resultant irradiance that is different from the sum of the component irradiances. We will divide interferometric devices into two broad categories, namely, (i) wavefront splitting and (ii) amplitude splitting. In the first case, portions of the primary wavefront are used either directly as sources of secondary radiation or by means of other optical elements used to produce virtual sources of secondary radiation. The radiation from the
Wave Trends
secondary sources are brought together to interfere. In the case of amplitude splitting, the primary wave is divided into two segments, which travel different paths and interfere.
