An experimental ray tracer for measuring the optical aberrations of aspherical lenses is presented. Setup is based on the
principle of ray tracing which is used in optical design for virtually tracing rays through an optical system. This method
has the potential to be used in aspherical lens testing because of its flexibility and high dynamic range. Wavefront
aberrations can be calculated from results of experimental ray tracing. Furthermore the method offers the possibility of
retrieval of aspherical surface profiles. Preliminary results with a plano-convex aspherical lens are compared with those
obtained by a commercial surface profiler.
A new approach for quantifying the optical aberrations of aspherical lenses is presented. A measurement setup is
developed which measures the local wavefront slopes using a motorized scanning system. The simulation results of the
setup are presented in order to validate the potential of the measurement principle. Experimental results by the
measurement of a commercial aspherical lens verify the theoretical investigations. Dynamic range of the measurable
Zernike coefficients and Peak to Valley (P-V) wavefronts are quantified. Focal length of the aspheric lens under test is
calculated from the Zernike coefficients which are determined by performing a nonlinear regression analysis for the
measured slopes and the partial derivatives of the wavefront. Furthermore, 3rd order spherical aberration term of the
wavefront is analyzed dependent on different wavelengths.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.