Guided acoustic waves propagating in transparent and isotropic solids are studied by optical interferometry via the photoelastic effect. Unlike the photoelastic technique, the interferometric method permits the measurement of the phase shift rather than the polarization change of the light passing through an acoustic field. By analyzing the acoustically induced change in the index ellipsoid of refraction, it is demonstrated that the optical phase shift is proportional to thedilatationor the relative change in volume of the material. The dilatation fields of the symmetric and antisymmetric Lamb modesS0andA0, as well as that of the Rayleigh wave, were calculated. Experiments performed in fused quartz by the interferometric method are in good agreement with theoretical predictions. Compared to the conventional photoelastic technique, the interferometric measurement of acoustic wave is phase sensitive and quantitative. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.