KEYWORDS: Modulation transfer functions, Data modeling, Wavefronts, Tolerancing, Image quality, Lenses, Point spread functions, Monte Carlo methods, Imaging systems
Ruda designs high performance imaging systems to meet difficult mission requirements, but these nearly diffraction limited systems often have small margins between the image quality of the nominal design and the required performance of the as-built system. Due to this we may spend significant resources designing and operating specialized test setups to ensure that results of MTF and Ensquared Energy (EE) measurements are well-calibrated and accurate. Alternatively, wavefront measurements – like those captured by wavefront sensors and interferometers – can be taken of the system to characterize the quality of the as-built system. Wavefront measurements are typically higher resolution, faster to setup, and quicker to measure than image quality metrics, making them particularly attractive for use when validating as-built system quality. Since the wavefront is related to the point spread function, and thereby the image quality, different wavefront measurements can contain information about the system MTF and EE. Thus, if the relationship between the wavefront and image quality metrics of interest can be established for an as-built system, it is possible to supplement or fully validate MTF and EE requirements from wavefront measurements. To investigate this relationship, we used Zemax OpticStudio to generate toleranced Monte Carlo trials of two nearly diffraction limited imaging systems designed by Ruda. The Monte Carlo models were then analyzed to form large data sets for statistical analysis. For wavefront data, the simulation produces single pass and double pass wavefront Zernike decompositions as well as wavefront root mean squared error over a range of object fields and visible wavelengths. For image quality data, the MTF at three spatial frequencies and the EE at two integration lengths are computed for the same fields and wavelengths as the wavefront data. These data sets are then processed to demonstrate that high degrees of correlation can exist between wavefront data and image quality metrics in toleranced high performance imaging systems, even when there is a difference in wavelength between the metrics. Sources of noise in these correlations are identified, and paths for supplementing or validating image quality requirement with correlated wavefront measurement data through machine learning are discussed.
Threaded mounts are one of the most common interfaces between optical systems and commercial-off-the-shelf cameras. Popular examples include the established C-mount, as well as the newer TFL-mount which accommodates for larger sensor formats such as the APS-C detector. In all cases, the thread is used to adjust for focus by clocking the optical system with respect to a fixed camera assembly or vice versa. For this reason, the alignment between the datum axis of the optical system and the array detector plane inside the camera depends on both the allowances and tolerances of the thread interface, and on the manufacturing tolerances of the mount components. To highlight how the stack up of these tolerances can affect image quality of an optical system, we first perform an inverse sensitivity analysis to determine the detector alignment specification as a function of system F/#, field of view, and chief ray angle. We then calculate the misalignment contributions of the thread between the optical system and the lock ring that sets the camera axial position for best focus. This optomechanical analysis allows us to determine if thread mounts are appropriate for the specifications of the optical system under consideration and to specify the tolerances of the thread interface when this is the case.
Passively athermalized optical systems produce high quality images over a large thermal range without actively adjusting focus. This athermalization is achieved through careful selection of the glass for each lens and metal for each mount. For drop-in systems, the material combination for best optical performance often leads to a lens stack with an overall coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that is different from the CTE of the barrel that holds it together. Since bulk glass and metal are relatively stiff, this CTE mismatch results in large variations of the preload force retaining the lens stack in compression over the optical system’s survival thermal range. For this reason, compliant spacers are commonly added to the lens stack in an effort to attenuate these preload force variations. However, the effect of these compliant spacers on the athermalization of optical systems is seldom analyzed. We perform a first-order calculation of the effective CTE of compliant spacers to assess their impact on optical performance and introduce an optomechanical design approach to reduce the amount of compliance needed by matching the overall CTE of the lens stack to the CTE of the barrel.
Optical systems are often athermalized over large temperature ranges through the proper choice of glasses and mounting materials. However, variations in the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and thermo-optical coefficients that govern thermal behavior are seldom included in the tolerance analysis. Manufacturers rarely provide these material tolerances and we can only account for their effects through custom macros in lens design software. We demonstrate that a first-order sensitivity analysis on the change in focus position at each environmental condition accurately predicts the degradation of the system performance. We verified this correlation by creating a custom catalog of identical glasses with perturbed thermal parameters and evaluating the RMS wavefront error for each material substitution.
In the design of optical assemblies, emphasis is placed on tolerancing the surface irregularity, which is a driving factor in price and manufacturing prices and time during polishing. Quite often, the default irregularity tolerance in modeling software is assumed to be a 50:50 split between astigmatism and 3rd order spherical aberration (i.e. symmetric zonal errors). In this paper, we reviewed the irregularity of over 1,000 custom fabrication optical surfaces. We looked at the relationship between the spherical and astigmatism aberrations and found generally that a surface will be either astigmatic or spherical, but rarely a mixture of the two. We also looked at the PV and rms of the surfaces and how that compares to the model and the general knowledge. One striking result of our analysis came from a closer analysis of how the optical modeling software package handles ‘power’ errors in the irregularity tolerance. It is possible that there is a mismatch between the model and the optical manufacturer.
By utilizing the Hydrogen-Lyman-α (HLA) source at 121.6 nm, we hope to achieve an intrinsic resolution of 247 nm at 0.3 numerical aperture (NA) and 92 nm at 0.8 NA. The motivation for 121.6 nm microscopy is the existence of a transparent window in the air absorption spectrum at that wavelength, which allows for the sample to be in air while the microscope is in an enclosed nitrogen environment. The microscope objective consists of two reflective optics and a LiF window, and it has been designed to demonstrate diffraction limited performance over a 160μm full field at 121.6 nm. The optomechanical design consists of mechanical subcells for each optical component, precision spacers and a barrel bore, which allow for submicron control of tolerance parameters.
Nano-scale resolution in miniature optical systems has been realized in the optical data storage industry. Numerical
apertures greater than unity have been achieved in by utilizing the high index material of a hemispherical Solid
Immersion Lens (SIL), which increases the resolution of the backing objective by a factor that is related to the refractive
index of the SIL. In this research, a custom Hyper-Blu-Disc (HBD) NA=1.4 SIL objective is utilized for high-fidelity
readout of data pits beneath a 100μm thick cover layer on an optical Blu-Ray Disc. If realized commercially, the increase
in data density could be 3X today’s Blu-Ray technology. A distinct difference between this work and other work with
SILs in optical data storage is the relatively thick cover layer of 100μm. Recently, there has been interest in discovering
new ways to apply the technology and methods used in optical data storage for other means. The inherent design of the
HBD objective to image through a shallow layer of dielectric material may lend itself to be used as an effective means
for characterizing subsurface damage in optical materials. This research will furthermore investigate the HBD objective
as a means of detecting subsurface damage.
We show the design for a laser scanning microscopy defect detection system based upon the idea that the light can reflect off a photoresist-laden fused-silica sample containing defects, allowing height and depth information to be obtained through changes in light intensity. Image registration using predefined points is employed. Image processing techniques involving median and deconvolution filtering are used. Results show that the 2.1-μm resolution of these defects is obtainable, and receiver operating characteristic curves are used for quantifying results. Discriminabilities of 0.73 are achieved. Preliminary results for larger-array patterns through stitching processes are also shown.
Coatings of various metalized patterns are used for heating and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding
applications. Previous work has focused on macro differences between different types of grids, and has shown good
correlation between measurements and analyses of grid diffraction. To advance this work, we have utilized the
University of Arizona's OptiScan software, which has been optimized for this application by using the Babinet Principle.
When operating on an appropriate computer system, this algorithm produces results hundreds of times faster than
standard Fourier-based methods, and allows realistic cases to be modeled for the first time. By using previously
published derivations by Exotic Electro-Optics, we compare diffraction performance of repeating and randomized grid
patterns with equivalent sheet resistance using numerical performance metrics. Grid patterns of each type are printed on
optical substrates and measured energy is compared against modeled energy.
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