Photothermal measurements with a Jamin interferometer

We present a numerical study of the behavior of the signal in a photothermal experiment combining the mirage effect and a Jamin interferometer. Our analysis is limited to a square-pulse excitation by at weakly absorbed Gaussian pump laser beam with a large radius. We investigate the influence of three parameters: the time of illumination of the sample, the time of extinction of the pump beam, and the height of the probe-beam arm of the Jamin interferometer above the sample. We show that the path. difference, which induces the variation of intensity at the output of the Jamin interferometer, is caused by both probe-beam deflection and temperature variation of the refractive index of air above the sample. The first effect is dominant for short times, and interferometry is a sensitive tool to monitor it. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.