Mach–Zehnder interferometern.
/ˌmak ˌzeɪndə(r) ˌɪntəfəˈrɒmᵻtə/, /ˌmɑːk ˌzeɪndə(r) ˌɪntəfəˈrɒmᵻtə/, /ˌmɑːx ˌzeɪndə(r) ˌɪntəfəˈrɒmᵻtə/, U.S. /ˌmɑk ˌzeɪndər ˌɪn(t)ərfəˈrɑmədər/, /ˌmɑx ˌzeɪndər ˌɪn(t)ərfəˈrɑmədər/ Physics.
A type of optical interferometer in which light is split into two beams whose paths can be widely separated before they are recombined at another beam splitter, typically used to measure large-scale variations in refractive index.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > diffraction > [noun] > instrument employing interference
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étalon1905
Fabry-Pérot1908
Mach–Zehnder interferometer1959
1902 C. R. Mann & R. A. Millikan tr. P. Drude Theory of Optics ii. ii. 146 A much larger separation may be obtained if, as on Zehnder's instrument, four nearly parallel plates be used. According to Mach it is advantageous to replace two of these plates by metal mirrors S1 and S2.]
1959 M. Born & E. Wolf Princ. Optics vii. 312 A much more versatile instrument, in which the beams may be widely separated, is obtained when the beam dividers and mirrors are separate elements. This is the basis of the Mach–Zehnder interferometer, which is used to measure variations of refractive index, and hence of density, in compressible gas flows.
1986 A. R. Tebo in R. Loxton & P. Pope Instrumentation xiv. 127/1 The phase shifts from a 632.8 nm He-Ne Laser were measured by a Mach–Zehnder interferometer.
1997 Electronic Engin. News (Nexis) 1 Dec. Both the laser and the detector are coupled into a wavelength-dependent Mach–Zehnder interferometer waveguide structure.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1959