Transparent media thickness measurement employing low-coherence interferometry and a multi-element array

In this communication, we present a method to measure the thickness of transparent media employing a low coherence interferometer and a multi-element array as a photo-detector. The multi-element array employed is part of a consumer-grade digital camera (< 0.5 k$). A two-beam interferometer is created by inserting the slab of a transparent material half-way through into the measurement beam. The method is evaluated on a thin microscope cover slip and on a thicker microscope glass slide.