> I'm trying to figure out a way to improve our inferometer at
> work,(CCDs, computer software, etc..) but as this is not really a ATM
> issue,
Why don't you contact Peter Ceravolo of Ceravolo Optics (see few last S&T or ATMJ magazines) ? Having a good flat already, you just need CCD camera (cheap), frame grabber (also cheap) and fringe analysis software. I think that early version of EZ-fringe, with option that you manually input th reference points is quite cheap, $50 or so; even full fledged new fringe analysis s/ware which does that automatically is not too expensive either - both are availabe from Ceravolo.
CCD will work in VERY low light levels; almost any CCD camera will do. Just be aware of lens distorsion (easy to check - just point it at target made up of many squares and check that lines on the monitor are straight and equally spaced). I'm sure that after using fringe analysis software you wouldn't wont to see the frosted glass again ! (as matter of fact, you can leave the glass screen there, and just use the CCD camera with its supplied lens to transfer the image to the PC)
And I'd like to see this as a *real* ATM issue, even more often.
Bratislav