Homodyne full-field interferometer for measuring dynamic surface phenomena in microstructures

We describe a stabilized homodyne full-field interferometer capable of measuring vertical surface deformations of microstructures in the time domain. The interferometer is stabilized to a chosen operation point by obtaining a feedback signal from a non-moving, freely selectable, reference region on the sample surface. The stabilized full-field interferometer enables detection of time-dependent changes in the surface profile with nanometer scale vertical resolution, while the temporal resolution of the measurement is ultimately limited by the refresh rate of the camera only. The lateral resolution of the surface deformation is determined by the combination of the imaging optics together with the pixel size of the camera. The setup is used to measure the deformation of an Aluminum nitride membrane as a function of time-dependent pressure change. The data analysis allows for unambiguous determination of surface deformations over multiple fringes of the interferogram, hence enabling the study of a wide range of physical phenomena with varying magnitude of vertical surface movement.