Single-element interferometer

A very simple and stable interferometer using a single optical element – a beam-splitter cube – is presented. The device resembles a two-arm interferometer in which the arms are together in one collimated beam, and the two beam halves interfere with the help of the beam-splitter cube. The proposed device produces simultaneously two interferograms with a relative phase-shift of π (rad). Since the period of straight interference fringes can be stably controlled, the device has potential application in spatial-carrier interferometry and for flexible writing of fiber Bragg gratings.