In recent work at Northwestern University, Multiplexed Two‐Wave Mixing Interferometers (MTWM) have been developed. These systems are able to perform optical detection of ultrasonic motion over an array of points simultaneously. Optical phase gratings are used to create a detection‐array of laser beams that are directed to the specimen. The detection array can be arranged in several ways on the test object. The scattered beams from the detection‐array are collected and combined with a single reference beam in a photorefractive crystal to form a multiplexed two‐wave mixing configuration. Each of the output beams from the photorefractive crystal is imaged on to a separate element of a photodetector array. The resulting MTWM system is capable of providing simultaneous optical detection (with high spatial resolution and sub‐nanometer displacement sensitivities) at several points on a test object. The MTWM system can be used in several modes for laser ultrasonic NDE of flaws and materials characterization. In this paper we present recent advances and applications of this technology. An application of the MTWM system for fast recovery of Lamb wave dispersion curves is presented. We obtain the dispersive time‐domain Lamb wave signals at multiple source‐to‐receiver distances. Following the algorithm of Alleyne and Cawley, these time‐position domain signals are transformed to the frequency‐wavenumber domain using a 2D FFT technique. The MTWM system enables rapid characterization of Lamb wave dispersion. © 2003 American Institute of Physics