Enlarging the angle of view in Michelson-interferometer-based shearography by embedding a 4f system.

Digital shearography based on Michelson interferometers suffers from the disadvantage of a small angle of view due to the structure. We demonstrate a novel digital shearography system with a large angle of view. In the optical arrangement, the imaging lens is in front of the Michelson interferometer rather than behind it as in traditional digital shearography. Thus, the angle of view is no longer limited by the Michelson interferometer. The images transmitting between the separate lens and camera are accomplished by a 4f system in the new style of shearography. The influences of the 4f system on shearography are also discussed.