ABERRATIONS OF FABRY-PEROT INTERFEROMETERS WHEN USED AS FILTERS

The spectral and optical performances of Fabry-Perot interferometers having nonuniformities in spacing are discussed, and it is shown that the finesse F of an interferometer with a circular aperture and a parabolic nonuniformity in spacing and that of one with a rectangular aperture and a linear nonuniformity (lack of parallelism) are both given by F=π{[(1-R)2/R]+[2πξ/λ]2}-1/2, where ξ is the maximum non-uniformity across the aperture and R is the plate reflectance. It is also shown that the nonuniformities impair the spectral performance more than the optical, particularly with incident white light. © 1969 Optical Society of America.