Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81

Estimation of the 2D measurement error

introduced by in-plane and out-of-plane electronic
speckle pattern interferometry instruments
D. Albrecht*
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra Site, Via Fermi, 1, I-21020 Ispra, Italy
Received 14 May 1998; accepted 10 September 1998

Abstract
Optical interferometric metrology techniques are being increasingly used in industry. These
techniques assure a greater accuracy in measuring displacements caused by deformations. One
such technique, electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI), has been used successfully to
measure in-plane and out-of-plane deformations. The usual model describing ESPI instruments
behaviour is only valid in or near the centre of the illuminated surface. In general, this model is
used as such for all the points on the surface creating thus an approximate "gure of the reality.
This study has led to an improved 3D vectorial model, allowing us to assess qualitatively and
quantitatively what is actually measured throughout all the inspected surface. Calculations with
practical parameters taken from real ESPI instruments designed in the Joint Research Centre of
Ispra (Italy) were carried out. The results showing three-dimensional diagrams of the measure-
ment errors are presented and discussed.  1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

ESPI devices use light beams produced by coherent sources. In the 3D vectorial
model, the point displacement d and the directions of the interfering beams are
VW
described by vectors or unit vectors. The key idea is the point-by-point examination of
the vectors characteristics that will tell exactly what is actually measured, and from
there on the 2D measurement error can be drawn. In this paper, the same methodo-
logy will be applied to an in-plane and an out-of-plane ESPI instrument. Features and
results particular to each type of instrument will be separately discussed.

*Tel.: 00 39 332 78 9237; fax: 00 39 332 78 6053; e-mail:daniel.albrecht@jrc.it

Institute for Systems, Informatics and Safety, Advanced Technique for Information Analysis, Part-time
PhD Student, Department of Physics, University of Loughborough, Loughborough, UK.

0143-8166/99/$ - see front matter  1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
PII: S 01 4 3-8 1 66 ( 9 8) 0 0 04 3 - 8
64 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81

ESPI devices exhibit a reference wavefront (I ) and an object wavefront (I *object

0 -
illumination). Most part of the illumination gets re#ected by the object external
surface and proceeds backwards in the direction n of the viewing camera. When the

object is "xed, nothing happens. But when the object undergoes the e!ects of a force,
most of the points on the surface are likely to move and according to the type of
instrument, either one of the in-plane components d , d (in-plane instrument) or the
 
out-of-plane component d (out-of-plane instrument) of the total point displacement

d"d #d #d will be measured (Figs. 1 and 2); a fringe pattern can be visualised.
  

Fig. 1. In-plane instrument (only beam 1 is drawn).

Fig. 2. Out-of-plane instrument.

 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81 65

1.1. Geometric conxguration of an in-plane instrument

While keeping the next analysis very general, we will consider a typical in-plane
device oriented in the vertical direction, so that it will measure in-plane vertical
displacements. In an ESPI in-plane device there are two illumination beams called
n and n placed symmetrically in respect to the optical axis. The origin of the
 
3D coordinate system (i, j, k) is placed at A(0, 0, 0), the plane of the inspected area
lies in i, j. The ESPI instrument optical axis is the bisector of the two illumination
beams.

1.2. Geometric conxguration of an out-of-plane instrument

The expanding lens of the unique illumination beam n is located at the right-hand

side of the CCD camera.
A(0, 0, !wd) is the centre of the inspected area and wd stands for working
distance.
The origin of the 3D coordinate system (i, j, k) is placed at O (0, 0, 0) centre of the
CCD. The plane of the inspected area lies at z"!wd behind the i, j plane.
The optical axis acts as the reference for all the geometric parameters. To use
a simple picture, the measurement device or its optical axis is assumed to be
positioned perpendicularly to the object surface. Vector k is aligned on the ESPI
instrument optical axis.
(d "horizontal in-plane displacement, d "vertical in-plane displacement,
 
d "out-of-plane displacement).

Moreover from [1] we know that the phase change due to the point displace-
ment is:

for an in-plane instrument: *U"k(n !n ) ' d (1)

 
for an out-of-plane instrument *U"k(n !n ) ' d (2)
 
The total fringe pattern or its equivalent mathematical variable *U depends on j,
(k"2n/j), and the combination (dot product) of the vectors n !n or n !n with
   
the displacement d"d #d #d .
  
The real instrument parameters unfortunately do not correspond to the usual
model:
E one must consider all the illuminated surface, the illumination angle h is then not

constant and changes when the considered point sweeps over the inspected surface.
E a 3D vectorial description must be used: n "k i#k j#k k,
G   
E any displacement d must be considered, because during actual experiments, one can

never exclude the case of a real 3D displacement d"d #d #d .

  
This more exact "gure of the reality and the application of the above equations
allowed to "nd out that not only one component but all d , d , d components
  
unexpectedly contribute to the total fringe pattern. This can be a source of consider-
able measurement errors.
66 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81

2. The total fringe pattern equations

2.1. In-plane instruments

2.1.1. The n and d vectorial equations
The n , n vectors represent the illumination beams direction for each point in
 
the inspected area. Their direction is therefore di!erent at each considered point and
their module is unity. For each point on the inspected area, there are thus a pair of
vectors n , n which when combined (dot product) with the local displacement
 
d"d #d #d , will contribute to the total fringe pattern.
  
The optical axis is assumed to be perpendicular to the inspected surface. One can
see that the centre of the object is illuminated by the centre of the mirrors. The points
of the object surface far from the centre are illuminated by points on the mirrors also
far from the centre of the mirrors. To obtain more accurate results, one has decided to
take into account the little and non-negligible shift, for example, of the origin of the
vector N on the mirror M . A simple linear function was used to determine it (see the
 
Appendix).
In Fig. 3: x , y , z : are the coordinates of the illuminating point of the mirror
+G +G +G
M.
G
x , y : are the maximum coordinates of the illuminated points on
 
the inspected surface,
x "0#x ; x "0#x ;
+  + 
y "> #y ; y "> #y ;
+   +  
z "Z #z ; z "Z #z .
+   +  
X , > , Z are "xed while x , y , z depend on x ,y ,z of
G G G G G G 

 

 


the measured point on the inspected surface (see the Appendix).

Fig. 3. Typical in-plane instrument parameters.

 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81 67

¹he n unit vector. The n unit vector describes the illumination beam vectorial
 
characteristics coming from the mirror M , above the optical axis.

N "(x !x )i#( y !y )j#(z !z )k
VWX 

 + 

 + 

 +
x ,x"coord. x of the point on the measured surface;



y ,y"coord. y of the point on the measured surface;



z ,z"coord. z"0, the origin of the coordinate system lies on the centre



of the object plane.

"N ""((x !x )#( y !y )#(z !z )

VWX 

 + 

 + 

 +
and
(x !x ) (y !y ) (z !z )
n " 

 + i# 

 + j# 

 + k
VWX "N " "N " "N "
  
Finally,


M x
x !  




 "x "
n "  i
VWX "N "


 
( n!h ) y
y ! > # M sin   




   2 "y "
#  j
"N "


  
( n!h ) y
z ! Z ! M cos   




   2 "y "
#  k (3)
"N "

¹he n unit vector. The n unit vector describes the illumination beam vectorial
 
characteristics coming from the mirror M , under the optical axis.



M x
x !  




 "x "
n "  i
VWX "N "


   
( n!h ) y
y ! M sin   

 !>


  2 "y " 
#  j
"N "


  
(  n!h ) y
z ! Z # M cos   




   2 "y "
#  k (4)
"N "

¹he d vector. The d vector describes the real displacement at each point of the
inspected area. The typical case would be a vector in a direction pointed at 453 with
68 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81

respect to the 3D reference coordinate axis (i, j, k). So

d "d i#d j#d k (5)

VWX VWX VWX VWX

2.1.2. The theoretical in-plane total fringe pattern

From Eq. (1); *U "k(n !n ) ' d, and substituting Eqs. (3)}(5) in Eq. (1):
VWX  

 
(x !x ) (y !y ) (z !z )
*U "k 

 + i# 

 + j# 

 + k
VWX "N " "N " "N "
  

 
(x !x ) (y !y ) (z !z )
! 

 + i# 

 + j# 

 + k
"N " "N " "N "
  
' (di#d j#d k)

Let us assume: M "M "M; both mirrors have same diameter.

 
M "(M sin[(n/2!h )/2]), and M "(M cos[(n/2!h )/2])
   




Mx Mx
x ! 

 x ! 


2n 

 "x " 

 "x "
*U "  !  i
VWX j "N " "N "
 




 
y y
y ! > #M 

 y ! M 

 !>


  W "y " 

 W "y " 
#  !  j
"N " "N "
 





y y
z ! Z !M 

 z ! Z #M 




  X "y " 

  X "y "
#  !  k
"N " "N "
 

' (di#dj#dk)

Finally,




Mx Mx
x ! 

 x ! 


4n 1 

 "x " 

 "x "
*U "  !  d
VWX j 2 "N " "N " V WX
 


y
y ! > #M 


1 

  W "y "
# 
2 "N "

 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81 69

 
y
y ! M 

 !>


 W "y " 
!  d
"N " VWX



y
z ! Z !M 


1 

  X "y "
# 
2 "N "




y
z ! Z #M 




  X "y "
!  d (6)
"N " VWX

N and N also depend on x, y, z and x ,x; y ,y; z ,z.
  

 

 


There is the "nal equation describing precisely the total fringe pattern or its
equivalent mathematical variable *U versus the displacement d and taking into
account the ESPI in-plane instrument geometrical parameters.

2.1.3. Application to an in-plane instrument

A real double in-plane instrument called ESPI}I}10 was developed to inspect an
area of about 180;200 mm. Its dimensional con"guration shown hereafter will
provide the requested parameters to be included in Eq. (6) in order to assess the error
in the d displacement measurement and the error introduced by the possible unde-

sired d , d displacements. The distances are expressed in mm (Fig. 4).
 

Fig. 4. Actual in-plane instrument dimensions.

70 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81

¹he ESPI}I}10 in-plane formula. From the appendix with "x ""96 mm and

" y ""80 mm:

M "M "M"D/2"25 mm, M/"x ""25/96"0.260
  
m"(n/2!h )/2"(90!15.4)/2"37.33

M "25 sin 37.3"15.15 mmPM /" y ""15.15/80"0.189
W W 
M "25 cos 37.3"19.88 mmPM /" y ""19.88/80"0.248
X X 

 
4p 1 (x !0.260 x ) (x !0.260 x )
*U " 

 

 ! 

 

 d
VWX j 2 "N " "N " VWX
 


1 (y !(> #0.189y ))
# 

  


2 "N "



(y !((0.189y )!> ))
! 

 

  d
"N " VWX



1 (z !(Z !0.248y ))
# 

  


2 "N "


 
(z !(Z #0.248y ))
! 

  

 d
"N " VWX


and

"N ""(0.546 x #(0.811 y !190)#(0.248 y !690)

VWX 

 

 


and

"N ""(0.546 x #(0.811 y #180)#(!0.248 y !650)

VWX 

 

 



Finally, with z "z"0:





 
4n 1 0.739 x 0.739 x
*U " 

! 

 d
VW j 2 "N " "N " VW
 

 
1 0.811 y !190 0.811 y #180
# 

 ! 

 d
2 "N " "N " VW
 

  
1 0.248 y !690 !0.248 y !650
# 

 ! 

 d (7)
2 "N " "N " VW
 
N and N also depend on x, y, z and x ,x; y ,y; z ,z.
  

 

 


 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81 71

This is the "nal equation describing precisely the total fringe pattern obtained for
all the inspected object surface with the ESPI}I}10 in-plane instrument installed at
a working distance equal to 690 mm. Eq. (7) con"rms that not only d but also and

unexpectedly d and d contribute to the total fringe pattern. The expressions within
 
the square brackets are the d , d , d components coe$cients and are de"ned as d ,
   
d , d ; Eq. (7)N*U "4n/j +d d #d d #d d ,.
  VW VW VW VW VW VW VW
2.2. Out-of-plane instruments

2.2.1. The n and d vectorial equations

The n vector represents the illumination beam direction for each point in the

inspected area. Its direction is therefore di!erent at each considered point and its
module is unity.
For each point on the inspected area, there are thus the vectors n and n which
 
when combined (dot product) with the local displacement d"d #d #d , will
  
contribute to the total fringe pattern (Fig. 5).
The optical axis is assumed to be perpendicular to the inspected surface. The
instrument is positioned at a certain distance from the object, the working
distance (wd). Considering the case of a #at object, and disregarding the surface
roughness, each point of the inspected area lies at the z coordinate equal to the
working distance (!wd). The origin of the coordinate system lies in the centre of
the CCD.
¹he n unit vector. The n unit vector describes the illumination beam vectorial
 
characteristics coming from the lens ¸ set at a distance e, on the right-hand side of the

Fig. 5. Typical out-of-plane instrument parameters.

72 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81

optical axis:

N "(x !e)i#( y !0)j#(z !0)k

VWX 

 

 


x ,x"coord. x of the point on the measured surface;



y ,y"coord. y of the point on the measured surface;



z ,z"coord. z of the point on the measured surface also called the working



distance (wd)

"N ""((x !e)#y #z

VWX 

 

 


and
(x !e) y z
n " 

 i# 

 j# 

 k (8)
VWX "N " "N " "N "
  
The illumination beam gets expanded, thus some of the N vectors are issued from

some point around the centre of the lens. To simplify the mathematical model, one
considers that all the N vectors join the centre of the lens ¸(e, 0, 0) to any point

(x, y, z) on the inspected surface, so N only depends on the x, y, z coordinates. In

practice, the error thus introduced should not exceed 4/1000.
¹he n unit vector. The n unit vector describes the imaging wavefront impinging on
 
the CCD camera.

N "(0!x )i#(0!y )j#(0!z )k

VWX 

 

 


"N ""(x #y #z
VWX 

 

 


x ,x"coord. x of the point on the measured surface;



y ,y"coord. y of the point on the measured surface;



z ,z"coord. z of the point on the measured surface also called the working



distance (wd).
We can quickly "nd out the vectorial equation for the n unit vector:

!x !y !z
n " 

 i# 

 j# 

 k (9)
VWX "N " "N " "N "
  
Though some of the N vectors reach a point around the centre of the CCD, one

considers that N joins any point (x, y, z) on the inspected surface to the centre of the

CCD, so N only depends on the x, y, z coordinates. In practice, the error thus

introduced should not exceed 4/1000.
¹he d vector. The d vector describes the real displacement at each point of the
inspected area. The typical case would be a vector in a direction pointed at 453 with
respect to the 3D reference coordinate axis (i, j, k). So

d "d i#d j#d k (10)

VWX VWX VWX VWX
 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81 73

2.2.2. The theoretical out-of-plane total fringe pattern

From Eq. (2), *U"k(n !n ) ' d, and substituting Eqs. (8)}(10) in Eq. (2),
 

 
(x !e) y z
*U "k 

 i# 

 j# 

 k
VWX "N " "N " "N "
  

 
!x !y !z
! 

 i# 

 j# 

 k ' (d i#d j#d k)
"N " "N " "N "
  

   
2n (x !e) !x y !y
*U " 

 ! 

 i# 

! 

 j
VWX j "N " "N " "N " "N "
   

 
z !z
# 

! 

 k ' (d i#d j#d k)
"N " "N "   
 

 
4n 1 (x !e) (x )
*U " 

 # 

 d
VW j 2 "N " "N " VWX
 

    
1 y y 1 z z
# 

# 

 d # 

# 

 d
2 "N " "N " VWX 2 "N " "N " VWX
   
Finally,


4n 1 (x !e)
*U " 


VWX j 2 ((x !e)#y #z


 

 




(x )
# 

 d
(x #y #z VWX


 

 




1 y
# 


2 ((x !e)#y #z


 

 




y
# 

 d
(x #y #z VWX


 

 




1 z
# 


2 ((x !e)#y #z


 

 



 
z
# 

 d (11)
(x #y #z VWX


 

 


N and N also depend on x, y, z, and x ,x; y ,y; z ,z.
  

 

 


Eq. (11) is the "nal equation describing precisely the total fringe pattern or its
equivalent mathematical variable *U versus the point-by-point displacement d and
taking into account the ESPI out-of-plane instrument geometrical parameters.
74 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81

2.2.3. Application to an out-of-plane instrument

An out-of-plane instrument called ESPI}O}50 was developed to inspect an area of
about 520;440 mm. Its dimensional con"guration shown hereafter will provide the
requested parameters to be included in Eq. (11), in order to assess the error in the d

out-of-plane displacement measurement and the possible undesired d , d in-plane
 
displacement components. The distances are expressed in mm (Fig. 6).
¹he ESPI}O}50 out-of-plane formula. The distance e between the CCD axis and the
expanding lens axis equals 120 mm. The instrument is normally located at a working
distance of 1 m (z "!1000 mm). From Eq. (11):





4n 1 (x !120)
*U " 

 o

!120)#y #1000
VWV j 2 ((x 




(x )
# 

 d
(x #y #1000 VWX


 




1 y
# 


2 ((x !120)#y #1000


 




y
# 

 d
(x #y #1000 VWX


 




1 1000
!
2 ((x !120)#y #1000


 



 
1000
# d (12)
(x #y #1000 VWX


 



Fig. 6. Actual out-of-plane instrument dimensions.

 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81 75

There is the "nal equation of the ESPI}O}50 out-of-plane instrument installed at

a working distance of 1000 mm. Eq. (12) con"rms that not only d but also and

unexpectedly d and d contribute to the total fringe pattern. As in Eq. (7), the
 
expressions within the square brackets are the d , d , d components coe.cients and
  
are de"ned as d , d , d .
  

3. The normalised sensitivity coe7cients

The displacement components coe.cients are the point of interest in Eqs. (7) and
(12). However, the exact values of d , d , d would not be very clear for the
  
understanding of the respective action of d"d #d #d on the total fringe pattern
  
*U. We can overcome this di$culty by de"ning a reference value.
In the in-plane case Eq. (7), we want to use the ESPI instrument to measure the
vertical in-plane displacement d . We can observe that d is not perfectly constant
 
and has a maximum value near the centre where d "d "0. If we take this
  
maximum value d - as a reference value, divide each coe$cient d by d - and
   W  
multiply by 100, we wil obtain a value equal to 100% at the point of the maximum
value and a lower value for d elsewhere. It is clear that the new 3D map represents

the d normalised sensitivity coe.cients map (d (%) versus x, y), the vertical in-plane
  
2D measurement error, of the instrument.
The same can be done for the coe$cients d , d using the same d c}max value for the
  
division. Again the new 3D maps are the d and d displacement components
 
normalised sensitivity coe$cients, (d versus x, y, and d (%) versus x, y), of the
   
instrument in respect of the d - value.
 
In the out-of-plane case Eq. (12), the same reasoning can be used. We want to use the
ESPI instrument to measure the out-of-plane displacement d3. We can observe that
d is not perfectly constant and has a maximum value d - near the centre where
  
d "d "0. If we take this maximum value of d - as a reference value, divide each
   
coe$cient d by d - and multiply by 100, we will obtain a value equal to 100% at
VW  
the point of the maximum value and a lower value for d elsewhere. It is clear that the

new 3D map represents the d normalised sensitivity coe.cients map (d (%) versus
  
x, y), the out-of-plane 2D measurement error, of the instrument.
The same can be done for the coe$cients d , d using the same d - value for the
   
division. Again the new 3D maps are the d and d displacement components
 
normalised sensitivity coe$cients (d versus x, y, and d (%) versus x, y), of the
  
instrument in respect to the d - value.
 
In both case, *U is the sum of the negative and positive contributions of each of the
d , d , d displacement components multiplied by the respective components sensitivi-
  
ties of the instrument. The "nal result depends, on the working distance, on the point
to point d ,d ,d , values of the instrument and on the real d , d , d ,
VW VW VW VW VW VW
displacement components occurring during the measurement. One can expect some
values above 100%.
In the best case, the undesirable components are zero (vertical in-plane: d "d "0)
 
and (out-of-plane: d "d "0) or are negligible during the experiment. Another
 
76 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81

solution would be to assess or to "nd out the analytical equation for the undesirable
components versus x, y. This leads to the possibility to correct the total fringe pattern.

4. The normalised sensitivity coe7cients maps

4.1. ESPI}I}10 in-plane instrument

Calculations of Eq. (7) were carried out using a software package [3] called
&Mathematica' (version: 2.2.1), running on a PC Premmia LX P/60 under Windows 95.
The next results are the estimation of the di values, the 2D measurement errors of

the ESPI}I}10 in-plane instrument installed at a working distance (wd) equal to
690 mm (Fig. 7).
ESPI}I}10 was built to measure the vertical in-plane d displacement component.

Ideally, for a perfect ESPI instrument, the d  map should be #at and positioned at


Fig. 7. In some places, d1 increases the total fringe pattern while in other ones, it decreases it.
(wd"690 mm). Max. d +3%.


Fig. 8. d map of the instrument is not homogeneous. (wd"690 mm). Max. d +4%.
 
 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81 77

Fig. 9. When y'0, a d3'0 increases the total fringe pattern while in the y(0 region, it decreases it
(wd"690 mm). Max. d +8%.


Fig. 10. Sum of the d , d , d values of the instrument for a wd"690 mm.
  

100% while the d  and d  maps should be #at and placed at 0%. Unfortunately,
 
this is far to be the case; Fig. 8 is not homogeneous, Figs. 7 and 9 are not zero. Fig. 10
is only illustrative and shows areas above and below 100%.

4.2. ESPI}O}50 out-of-plane instrument

The next results are the estimation Eq. (12) of the d  values, the 2D measurement
G
errors of the ESPI}O}50 out-of-plane instrument installed at a working distance (wd)
equal to 1000 mm.
ESPI}O}50 was built to measure the out-of-plane d displacement component.

Ideally, for a perfect ESPI instrument, the d map should be #at and positioned at

100% while the d and d maps should be #at and placed at 0%. Unfortunately,
 
78 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81

Fig. 11. A d1'0 increases the total fringe pattern when x(0, and when x'0 it decreases it.
(wd"1000 mm). Max. d +30%.


Fig. 12. When y'0, a d2'0 decreases the total fringe pattern while in the y(0 region, it increases it.
(wd"1000 mm). Max. d +20%.


Fig. 13. d map of the instrument is not homogeneous. (wd"1000 mm). Max. d +7%.
 
 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81 79

Fig. 14. Sum of the d , d , d values of the instrument for a wd"1000 mm.
  

this is far to be the case; Fig. 13 is not homogeneous, Figs. 11 and 12 are not zero.
Fig. 14 is only illustrative and shows areas above and below 100%.

5. Conclusions

The total fringe pattern generated on the screen is directly related to the global
phase di!erence *U that the illumination beam(s) undergo(es) when the point on the
surface moves. After a simple analysis using a vectorial approach, the fundamental
equation shows that the total fringe pattern change *U depends on the wavelength j,
the unit vectors n , n (in-plane) or n , n (out-of-plane) and the displacement d.
   
Curiously in the case of the in-plane instrument, the n unit vector has no in#uence.

The merit of the vectorial approach is that it is a very versatile method. It can easily
be used for any type of ESPI device as long as there are beams that can be described
by unit vectors.
Accurate three-dimensional vectorial analysis demonstrates that the instrument,
though developed to measure a de"ned component (ex.: vertical in-plane d , out-of-

plane d ) of the total displacement, is unfortunately also sensitive to the other

components. More precisely, when the inspected point sweeps over the whole object
surface, the vector n !n (in-plane) or the vector n !n (out-of-plane) often called
   
the sensitivity vector [1] is no longer vertical (vertical in-plane) or no longer perpen-
dicular (to the i, j plane, out-of-plane); each non-perfectly vertical (in-plane) or perpen-
dicular (out-of-plane) component of the sensitivity vector can combine (by the dot
product) with the other components of the local displacement d and the real instru-
ment is likely to be partially sensitive to those undesired displacement components, to
wit: d , d for vertical in-plane and d , d for out-of-plane.
   
This leads to the concept of displacement components sensitivity and more con-
cretely to the drawing of normalised sensitivity coe$cients (d  ) maps where the
G
values depend on the used working distance, and are characteristics of an ESPI
instrument. The coe$cients are expressed as percentages and are calculated in respect
80 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81

to the maximum value of either the d (horizontal in-plane) or the d (vertical

 
in-plane, ESPI}I}10) or the d (out-of-plane, ESPI}O}50) coe$cient.

In the case of the in-house developed in-plane instrument (ESPI}I}10), at a well
de"ned point x, y near the centre of the inspected (illuminated) area, d "d "0,
 
and d reaches a maximum of 100%, the vertical in-plane displacement is read

correctly.
As the inspected point gets farther from this particular point, d slightly decreases and

the d and d coe$cients contribute negatively or positively to the total fringe pattern.
 
The combination of the elliptically illuminated area and the 2D error maps pro"les
makes that the calculated extreme values are never reached. At a working distance of
690 mm: d coe$cient remains above 97%, only a maximum of about 1% of d1

(when present), and about 8% of d (when present) can be measured.

In the case of the out-of-plane instrument (ESPI}O}50), the d coe$cient reaches

a maximum near the centre and then slowly decreases as it reaches the limits of the
inspected area.
The 2D error done on the total fringe pattern is mainly introduced by the
contribution of the d and d in-plane displacement components. They act either
 
positively or negatively on the total fringe pattern; their contribution and so the
measured error is directly proportional to the inspected area size and inversely
proportional to the working distance. In the best case, at x"60, y"0,
d "d "0, and the d coe$cient reaches a maximum of 100%, the out-of-plane
  
displacement is read correctly. As the inspected point gets farther from the point
x"60, y"0, d decreases while d and d increase.
  
At a working distance (wd) of 1 m, the performances of ESPI}O}50 are:
E d : the essential component loses slightly its sensitivity and falls to a value of about

93%, it represents an error of &7%;
E d : the horizontal in-plane component introduces (when present) a noticeable

amount of phase in the total fringe pattern. Normalised sensitivity coe$cient values
from !20% to #30% are common;
E d : the vertical in-plane component also introduces (when present) a noticeable

amount of phase in the total fringe pattern where the normalised sensitivity
coe$cient values extend from !22% to #22%.
Other calculations led to the conclusion that the distance e between the CCD axis
and the lens axis has little e!ect (a couple of %) on the general performances of the
instrument. The increase of the working distance, however, improves greatly the
quality of the measurements. For instance, when the ESPI}O}50 instrument works at
2 m from the inspected surface, the in-plane normalised sensitivity coe$cients of the
components d and d are lowered by 50% compared to their value at 1 m.
 
It is clear that in any case the in-plane normalised sensitivity coe$cients are very
high for the ESPI}O}50 out-of-plane instrument, and so it is, for any out-of-plane
ESPI device based on the same principle.
For both types of instrument it is then important, when accurate measurements
must be carried out, to limit the inspection area size, to use the largest working
distance possible and to avoid undesirable displacement components during measure-
ment sessions.
 D. Albrecht / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 31 (1999) 63}81 81

Fig. 15. Detail of the mirror (in-plane).

Practical measurements carried out in laboratory are in very good agreement with
the developed theory. We have therefore shown the theoretical total fringe pattern
equations to be valid (Eqs. (6) and (11)).

Appendix

In Figs. 3 and 4, we can observe that a point located above point A(0, 0, 0), for
example, is no longer illuminated by the centre of the mirror but by a point slightly
above the centre.
This progressive shift of the illuminating point along with the illuminated point and
its precise x, y, z coordinates were calculated by a simple linear function as follows.
From Figs. 3, 4 and 15:
M "D /2: D is the Mirror i diameter
G G G
x "M x /"x ": the linear function !x axis
+G G 

 
y "> #[(M sin[(n/2!h )/2]) ( y/" y ")]: the linear function !y axis
+G G G  
Z "Z ![(M cos[(n/2!h )/2]) ( y/"y ")]: the linear function !z axis
+G G G  

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Ing. A.C. Lucia, Unit Head of the Modelling and Assessment
Unit, for his full support to this work. I am particularly grateful to Dr D. Emmony
(Professor at the Loughborough University, England) for valuable guidance in the
development of the ESPI devices.

References

[1] Jones R, Wykes C. Holographic and speckle interferometry. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 1983.
[2] Thomas GB, Finney RL. Calculus. 9th ed. Addison-Wesley, 1996.
[3] Wolfram S, Mathematica2+, A System for doing Mathematics by Computer. Addison-Wesley, 1988.