| My thesis investigates whether abrupt changes in optical phase (i.e., phase shifts) can be measured using optical heterodyne detection (OHD), a method commonly used to measure gradual changes in the temporal phase. I developed analysis software in MATLAB to considered and quantify the success of three different phase-shift measurement methods: non-split signal method, split signal method and split signal with zero-out method. I also explored whether spectral information can be used to access temporal phase shifts; this is a new area, as OHD typically deals with temporal information. My work identified both spectral and temporal phase assessment methods that provide high precision results. |
