We present a method for increasing the dynamic range of a Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor with a hexagonal lenslet array. Increasing the dynamic range is equivalent to calculating the spot displacement correctly, when it is bigger than the subaperture radius. Our method does this by sorting and indexing the spots according to centered hexagonal number. This allows tracking of the wandering of each spot separately. Further, we also show that the system can work in a reference-free mode if we are not interested in the tip and tilt terms. The results of the work are presented along with the details of the algorithm and theory.
Precise measurement of extremely small tilt angles is of immense importance in various scientific and technological applications. Interferometry has always been a tool of great importance in such applications. Most of the conventional interferometric techniques use a Michelson configuration and the problem with this interferometer is that it is extremely sensitive to environmental turbulances and vibrations. In our privious works, we had introduced a cyclic interferometer for the measurement of tilt angles which showed excellent stability against environmental turbulances and vibrations as well as twice the sensitivity. Also, with the introduction of multiple reflections, sensitivity as low as 5 micro radian had been achieved by us. To improve the sensitivity further, we had employed phase shifting techniques. The cyclic configuration being a same path interferometer, we used a polarizing phase shifting technique. For acieving this, we developed a new scheme of polarizing phase shifting techique which is rather simpler compared to those reported in the literature. With this we could precisely measure angles as low as 2 nano radians. However, in these measurements we found that the precise alignment of the quarter wave plate plays an important role in the visibility of the fringes which affects the accuracy of measurement. In this work, we numerically investigate the effect of the misalignment of the quarter wave plate on the visibility of the fringes and consequently on the accurcy of the measurement.
Accurate measurement of angles is extremely important in various metrological applications. Interferometry has always
been an excellent technique for accurate measurements. Several methods have been proposed for accurate tilt measurement
using interferometric techniques. Almost all of them use the Michelson configuration which is extremely sensitive to
environmental vibrations and turbulences. We know that a cyclic interferometer is extremely stable. Even though it is not
sensitive to displacement changes, it is twice sensitive to tilt compared to that of a Michelson interferometer. We have
enhanced the sensitivity to measure tilt using multiple reflections in a cyclic interferometer. Since the input beam is
collimated, we have studied the effect of aberration of the input beam on the accuracy of tilt measurement. Experimental
results on this study are presented in this paper.
Measurement of tilt plays an important role in metrological applications and consequently, several methods have been proposed in the recent past. Classical interferometric methods can measure angles with high accuracy but are easily susceptible to external turbulences. We propose to use a cyclic interferometer to measure tilt in which the sensitivity to tilt measurement is double when compared with that of the classical Michelson interferometer. Since the counter propagating beams travel identical paths, the interferometer is insensitive to external vibrations and turbulence and thus can be used under harsh environmental conditions. The novelty in the technique lies in creating multiple reflections in the tilt mirror to enhance the measurement accuracy by the way of increasing the sensitivity. This paper presents the basics of the interferometer and experimental results to quantify the increase in sensitivity. By increasing the number of reflections, it is shown that sensitivity can be further improved to measure tilt angles below 5 μrad.
The wavefront aberrations induced by misalignments due to decentration and tilt of an optical component in an optical measurement system are presented. A Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor is used to measure various aberrations caused due to the shifting of the axis and tilt of a lens in the path of an optical wavefront. One of the lenses in an optical system is decentered in the transverse direction and is tilted by using a rotational stage. For each step, wavefront data have been taken and data were analyzed up to the fourth order consisting of 14 Zernike terms along with peak-to-valley and root mean square values. Theoretical simulations using ray tracing have been carried out and compared with experimental values. The results are presented along with the discussion on tolerance limits for both decentration and tilt.
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