Qun Yuan

Modal wavefront estimation from its slopes by numerical orthogonal transformation method over general shaped aperture

Wavefront estimation from the slope-based sensing metrologies zis important in modern optical testing. A numerical orthogonal transformation method is proposed for deriving the numerical orthogonal gradient polynomials as numerical orthogonal basis functions for directly fitting the measured slope data and then converting to the wavefront in a straightforward way in the modal approach. The presented method can be employed in the wavefront estimation from its slopes over the general shaped aperture. Moreover, the numerical orthogonal transformation method could be applied to the wavefront estimation from its slope measurements over the dynamic varying aperture. The performance of the numerical orthogonal transformation method is discussed, demonstrated and verified by the examples. They indicate that the presented method is valid, accurate and easily implemented for wavefront estimation from its slopes.

Modal wavefront reconstruction over general shaped aperture by numerical orthogonal polynomials

Abstract. In practical optical measurements, the wavefront data are recorded by pixelated imaging sensors. The closed-form analytical base polynomial will lose its orthogonality in the discrete wavefront database. For a wavefront with an irregularly shaped aperture, the corresponding analytical base polynomials are laboriously derived. The use of numerical orthogonal polynomials for reconstructing a wavefront with a general shaped aperture over the discrete data points is presented. Numerical polynomials are orthogonal over the discrete data points regardless of the boundary shape of the aperture. The performance of numerical orthogonal polynomials is confirmed by theoretical analysis and experiments. The results demonstrate the adaptability, validity, and accuracy of numerical orthogonal polynomials for estimating the wavefront over a general shaped aperture from regular boundary to an irregular boundary.

Review of optical freeform surface representation technique and its application

Abstract. Modern advanced manufacturing and testing technologies allow the application of freeform optical elements. Compared with traditional spherical surfaces, an optical freeform surface has more degrees of freedom in optical design and provides substantially improved imaging performance. In freeform optics, the representation technique of a freeform surface has been a fundamental and key research topic in recent years. Moreover, it has a close relationship with other aspects of the design, manufacturing, testing, and application of optical freeform surfaces. Improvements in freeform surface representation techniques will make a significant contribution to the further development of freeform optics. We present a detailed review of the different types of optical freeform surface representation techniques and their applications and discuss their properties and differences. Additionally, we analyze the future trends of optical freeform surface representation techniques.

Carrier squeezing interferometry with π/4 phase shift: phase extraction in the presence of multi-beam interference

Multi-beam interference exists in testing high-reflectivity surfaces with a Fizeau interferometer. In this paper, the multi-beam interference intensity was estimated as the sum of the first six order harmonics using the Fourier series expansion. Then, by adopting carrier squeezing interferometry with a π/4 phase shift, an algorithm was proposed to extract the phase from multi-beam interferograms. To ensure the separation of the lobes of phase-shift errors and the phase in the frequency domain, conditions of the necessary linear carrier in the proposed algorithm were derived. Simulation results indicated that the phase retrieving precision is better than PV 0.008λ and RMS 0.001λ, even when the reflection coefficient of the test surface is as high as 0.9 and the phase shift varies within π/4±π/20. Compared with the other algorithms, the proposed algorithm for multi-beam interference was validated by its good performance in the experiments, especially when the phase-shift error exists.

Simultaneously testing surface figure and radius of curvature for spheres by a point diffraction interferometer

We report on the development of a point diffraction interferometer in visible light with surface figure measurement accuracy of λ/50 PV. The system enables simultaneously testing of the radius of curvature with the accuracy δR/R =5×10-4.

Refractive index measurement based on the wavefront difference method by a Fizeau interferometer

We present a refractive index measurement method by measuring the longitudinal displacement of the converging rays after passing through a plane-parallel-plate sample. Using the wavefront difference method, the error source from the divergence angle of the beams is eliminated, and an analytical formula for refractive index calculation is derived. With a Fizeau interferometer, an experimental system for plane-parallel-plate sample testing is proposed to verify the principle. Experimental results indicate that the order of its accuracy is 10−4.

Generalized shift-rotation absolute measurement method for high-numerical-aperture spherical surfaces with global optimized wavefront reconstruction algorithm

In this paper, a generalized shift-rotation absolute measurement method is proposed to measure the absolute surface shape of high-numerical-aperture spherical surfaces. Based on the wavefront difference method, the high order misalignment aberrations can be removed from the measurements. Our generalized shift-rotation absolute measurement process only needs one rotational measurement position and one translational measurement position. A wavefront reconstruction method based on the self-adaptive differential evolution algorithm is proposed to calculate the Zernike polynomials coefficient ai of the absolute surface shape Wtest(x,y), the rotation angle Δθ, the translation δx along the x axis, and the translation δy along the y axis. The translation error and rotation error in other absolute measurement methods are avoided using our generalized shift-rotation absolute measurement method. Experimental absolute results of the test surface and reference surface are given and the difference of reference surface shapes between two testings in experiments is 0.12 nm root mean square.

Freeform surface estimation by the combination of numerical orthogonal polynomials and overlapping averaging method

Abstract. A combination method using numerical orthogonal polynomials and overlapping averaging is presented for freeform surface estimation. The whole effective aperture of freeform surface is decomposed into multiple overlapped subapertures. The corresponding local surface over each subaperture is reconstructed by numerical orthogonal polynomials suited for general shaped aperture. Then, the whole freeform surface is obtained by overlapping averaging approach from multiple local surfaces. The performance of the presented combination method is discussed and demonstrated by examples and further verified by an experiment. The results show that the combination method could reach nanometer accuracy. Meanwhile, the local deformations of freeform surface can be characterized finely.

Large radius of curvature measurement based on virtual quadratic Newton rings phase-shifting moiré-fringes measurement method in a nonnull interferometer

We have proposed a virtual quadratic Newton rings phase-shifting moiré-fringes measurement method in a nonnull interferometer to measure the large radius of curvature for a spherical surface. In a quadratic polar coordinate system, linear carrier testing Newton rings interferogram and virtual Newton rings interferogram form the moiré fringes. It is possible to retrieve the wavefront difference data between the testing and standard spherical surface from the moiré fringes after low-pass filtering. Based on the wavefront difference data, we deduced a precise formula to calculate the radius of curvature in the quadratic polar coordinate system. We calculated the retrace error in the nonnull interferometer using the multi-configuration model of the nonnull interferometric system in ZEMAX. Our experimental results indicate that the measurement accuracy is better than 0.18% for a spherical mirror with a radius of curvature of 41,400 mm.

Design, assembly and calibration of white-light microscopy interferometer

A white-light microscopy interferometer was developed for measurement of the 3D profile and roughness.10X, 20X and 50X Mirau interference microscope objectives with the numerical aperture of 0.3, 0.4 and 0.55 were designed, manufactured and then provided as the accessories. Thickness deviation between beam splitter plate and reference mirror plate as well as the numerical aperture will both affect the contrast of interference fringe, according to optical modeling and image evaluation. The former would generate dispersion and then decrease the fringe contrast, while the latter would not produce dispersion separately but impact the amount of dispersion when thickness deviation exists, and their influence on fringe contrast was based on the expression of white-light interference intensity. Simulations for interference fringes from Mirau interference microscope objectives with different NA and thickness deviation were implemented, demonstrated that the fringe contrast will be falling with NA and thickness deviation increasing. A standard step with the nominal step value of 110 nm was used to calibrate the white-light microscopy interferometer, showing that less than1nm deviation can be reached.