Fiber optic coherence meter

A fiber optic coherence meter comprising in combination:

• an input light field,
• first and second fiber optic conductors having identical length, said first and second fiber optic conductors respectively have front and rear faces, said front faces of said first and second fiber optic conductors receiving said input light field, said front faces of said first and second fiber optic conductors being arranged to form a first common plane, said first fiber optic conductor being held stationary with respect to said second fiber optic conductor which can be moved either laterally in said first common plane or or longitudinally into and out of said first common plane, said rear faces of said first and second conductors being arranged to form a second common plane and having a lateral separation b, said rear faces being fixed with respect to each other to maintain said lateral separation b once it has been established,
• an observation plane parallel to said second common plane, said observation plane having positioned therein a first and second light detector, said input light field traveling through said first and second fiber optic conductors to form a first and second light field which emerges from said rear faces thereof, said first and second light fields interacting in said observation plane to form an interference pattern, said first and second light detectors detecting said interference pattern to determine the degree of coherence in said input light field.