Double-Slit Interferometer Measurements at SPEAR3

Abstract

The resolution of a conventional telescope used to image visible-light synchrotron radiation is often limited by diffraction effects. To improve resolution, the double-slit interferometer method was developed at KEK and has since become popular around the world. Based on the Van Cittert-Zernike theorem relating transverse source profile to transverse spatial coherence, the particle beam size can be inferred by recording fringe contrast as a function of interferometer slit separation. In this paper, we describe the SPEAR3 double-slit interferometer, develop a theoretical framework for the interferometer and provide experimental results. Of note the double-slit system is 'rotated' about the beam axis to map the dependence of photon beam coherence on angle.