The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 09, 1982
Filed:
Jun. 17, 1980
Gunter Makosch, Sindelfingen, DE;
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
In an interferometer wherein there is provided means for directing two linearly polarized beams having their polarizations perpendicular to each other onto a surface at different angles of incidence and means for recombining the beams reflected from the object into a combined beam, the improvement wherein means for periodically varying the phase of one component of the combined beam is provided and wherein the amount of change in phase between the two component beams of the combined beam when an amplitude sensing means senses a maximum or a minimum amplitude is a measure of the topographic height variations of the object surface which is irradiated.