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In this study the description and development of intensity-based laser interferometric techniques for the detection and measurement of ultrasonic stress waves and their small displacement amplitudes is presented. The dynamic displacement sensitive interferometers described in the following chapters allow the quantitative point-by-point measurement of both in-plane and out-of-plane components of surface displacement motion. These uniquely developed interferometric sensors are: 1) an optical system design for the detection of the surface acoustic wave (Rayleigh wave). The technique is based on the Fourier analysis of coherent light and diffraction imaging properties of an illuminated grating; 2) the design and construction of a two-beam unequal-path laser interferometer for the measurement of out-of-plane surface displacement of ultrasonic waves; 3) extension of a flexible fiber optic probing device which is optically coupled to the test arm of the above two-beam interferometer. This permits scanning of the test surface which may be at some distance from the main optical system components; 4) the design and construction of a laser speckle interferometer for retro-reflective diffusing surfaces in which the in-plane displacements of the ultrasonic wave are interrogated. The inherent advantages of these newly designed optical configurations in terms of their greater simplicity, feasibility, and sensitivity over the conventional counterparts (classical/speckle laser interferometers) are explained. The function-response limitations of these interferometric sensors on lateral displacement resolution, on upper and lower-bound displacement sensitivity (dynamic range), on high-frequency bandwidth probing capability, on low-frequency environmentally associated noise disturbance, and on specularly reflective or diffusively retro-reflective specimen surface preparation are also mentioned. Finally, in a series of experimental observations, the application of a couple of these acoustic sensors in pulsed-excitation ultrasonic Specifically, the optically testing methods is cited. detected ultrasonic signals revealing the true nature of the various surface displacement modes of vibration are presented. / Ph. D.