Theoretical development and practical applications of Virtually Referenced Interferometers

由于晶体管是我们今天享受的无数电子设备中的基本组件，干涉仪是光子（基于光的）设备的关键。传统干涉仪工作方式的问题在于，它们依赖于昂贵的光机部件。这项研究引入了干涉仪技术的范式转变，使这些光学机械部件与基于软件的算法的替代。这种新技术是强大的，因为它可以应用于任何干涉仪配置。 虽然该技术的性能优势是更高的精度，稳定性和速度，但该技术允许将干涉仪用于便携式应用，并通过用计算机硬件和软件取代昂贵的光机械来利用电子工业中的规模经济。由于干涉仪是光学系统中的基本组件（就像晶体管在电子系统中一样），这项技术将具有深远的好处，并在不久的将来实现新的应用。为了证明这些好处，原型系统在传感，测试和成像应用将开发后，一个完整的理论进行彻底的分析发展。

As the transistor is a basic component in the myriad of electronic devices we enjoy today, the interferometer is key to photonic (light based) devices. The problem with the way that conventional interferometers work is that they rely on expensive opto-mechanical parts. This research introduces a paradigm shift in interferometer technology that enables the replacement of these opto-mechanical parts with software based algorithms. This new technology is powerful since it can be applied to any interferometer configuration. While the performance benefits of this technology are higher accuracy, stability and speed this technology allows interferometers to be used in portable applications and leverages the economies of scale available in the electronics industry by replacing expensive opto-mechanics with computer hardware and software. Since interferometers are basic components in optical systems (like the transistor is in electronic systems) this technology will have far reaching benefits and enable new applications in the near future. To demonstrate these benefits, prototypes for systems in sensing, testing and imaging applications will be developed after a thorough analytical development of the complete theory.