Experimental comparison of a liquid-crystal point-diffraction interferometer (LCPDI) and a commercial phase-shifting interferometer and methods to improve LCPDI accuracy

We compare the phase measurements of a fused-silica witness sample made with a liquid-crystal point-diffraction interferometer (LCPDI) with measurements made with a Zygo Mark IV xp phase-shifting interferometer and find close agreement. Two phase-shift-error sources in the LCPDI that contribute to measurement discrepancies are frame-to-frame intensity changes caused by the dichroism of the dye and aligmnent distortions of the host liquid crystal. An empirical model of the phase-shift error caused by the host alignment distortions is presented and used to investigate the performance of two different phase-detection algorithms, It is suggested that by proper choice of LCPDI fabrication parameters and phase-acquisition methods, the device's accuracy can be significantly improved. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.