Shanyong Chen

Iterative algorithm for subaperture stitching interferometry for general surfaces

A novel iterative algorithm for subaperture stitching interferometry for general surfaces is presented. It is based on the alternating optimization technique and the successive linearization method. The computer-aided-design model of the tested surface is used to determine the overlapping region precisely. Subapertures are simultaneously stitched by minimizing deviations among them as well as deviations from the nominal surface. Precise prior knowledge of the six degrees-of-freedom nulling and alignment motion is no longer required.

Experimental study on subaperture testing with iterative stitching algorithm.

Applying the iterative stitching algorithm, we demonstrate the power of subaperture testing through experiments. Naturally the algorithm applies to flats, spherical or aspheric surfaces. We first apply it to a silicon carbide flat mirror with larger aperture than the interferometers. The testing results help to obtain a high-precision mirror through five iterations of ion beam figuring. The second experiment is 37-subaperture testing of a large spherical mirror. Good consistence is observed between the stitching result and the full aperture test result using a Zygo interferometer. Finally we study the applicability of the algorithm to subaperture testing of a parabolic surface. The stitching result is consistent with the auto-collimation test result. Furthermore, the surface is tested with annular subapertures and also retrieved by our algorithm successfully.

Testing of large optical surfaces with subaperture stitching.

Based on our previously proposed subaperture stitching and localization (SASL) algorithm, we present strategies and a prototype for testing of large optical surfaces with subaperture stitching. First, several strategies are introduced to deal with new problems when applying the SASL algorithm to large surfaces. The uncertainty of the lateral scale of the interferometer is compensated in the same manner as that of the radii of best-fit spheres in the algorithm. Then the coarse-fine stitching strategy is proposed to stitch tens of subapertures efficiently. Second, a prototype for testing of large surfaces with subaperture stitching is developed with a welded structural base. The model of kinematics is built to determine the initial configuration of each subaperture, according to the records of nulling motion. The uncertainty of linear motion is required to be no more than 1 mm, taking advantage of the large range of convergence of the SASL algorithm. Finally we present an experiment to verify the validity of the method and the prototype. A spherical surface is tested and successfully stitched with 37 subapertures.

Reconfigurable optical null based on counter-rotating Zernike plates for test of aspheres

In off-axis subapertures of most aspheres, astigmatism and coma dominate the aberrations with approximately quadratic and linear increase as the off-axis distance increases. A pair of counter-rotating Zernike plates is proposed to generate variable amount of Zernike terms Z4 and Z6, correcting most of the astigmatism and coma for subapertures located at different positions on surfaces of various aspheric shapes. The residual subaperture aberrations are then reduced within the vertical dynamic range of measurement of the interferometer. The plates are fabricated with computer generated holograms and the experimental results show the variable aberration correction effect without ghost fringes. The same plates are reconfigurable by counter-rotating to enable near-null test of various aspheres flexibly.

Lattice design for subaperture stitching test of a concave paraboloid surface

Lattice design is subtle and complicated for the subaperture stitching test of aspheric surfaces. Methods are described in this paper for the collection and arrangement of subapertures, and calculation of the best-fit sphere for each subaperture. The best-fit sphere is determined by minimizing the mean-square aspheric deviations in the form of a surface integral. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the procedure, and also to verify the validity of our proposed methods.

Self-calibrated subaperture stitching test of hyper-hemispheres using latitude and longitude coordinates

Limited by the f-number of the transmission sphere, it is impossible to test the whole surface of a hyper-hemisphere using a standard interferometer directly. This paper presents an extension of the subaperture stitching test method to hyper hemispheres. The stitching algorithm is based on the coordinate mapping from local measurement frame to a global frame, and overlapping correspondence is calculated by virtue of coordinates of latitude and longitude. The reference surface error is represented by Zernike polynomials and self-calibrated during the stitching to achieve higher accuracy. Then the stitched surface error distribution is presented by map projection. To realize accessibility to the whole surface of a hyper-hemisphere, we also propose a design for the subaperture test platform, according to the subaperture lattice design. Finally, a hemisphere and a full sphere are tested and figured, respectively, to validate the method and the experimental setup.

Ion beam figuring of high-slope surfaces based on figure error compensation algorithm.

In a deterministic figuring process, it is critical to guarantee high stability of the removal function as well as the accuracy of the dwell time solution, which directly influence the convergence of the figuring process. Hence, when figuring steep optics, the ion beam is required to keep a perpendicular incidence, and a five-axis figuring machine is typically utilized. In this paper, however, a method for high-precision figuring of high-slope optics is proposed with a linear three-axis machine, allowing for inclined beam incidence. First, the changing rule of the removal function and the normal removal rate with the incidence angle is analyzed according to the removal characteristics of ion beam figuring (IBF). Then, we propose to reduce the influence of varying removal function and projection distortion on the dwell time solution by means of figure error compensation. Consequently, the incident ion beam is allowed to keep parallel to the optical axis. Simulations and experiments are given to verify the removal analysis. Finally, a figuring experiment is conducted on a linear three-axis IBF machine, which proves the validity of the method for high-slope surfaces. It takes two iterations and about 9 min to successfully figure a fused silica sample, whose aperture is 21.3 mm and radius of curvature is 16 mm. The root-mean-square figure error of the convex surface is reduced from 13.13 to 5.86 nm.

Subaperture stitching test of large steep convex spheres

Limited by the aperture and f/number of the transmission sphere (TS), large convex spheres with very small R/number (ratio of the radius of curvature to the aperture) cannot be tested in a single measurement with a standard interferometer. We present the algorithm and troubleshooting for subaperture stitching test of a half meter-class convex sphere with R/0.61. Totally 90 off-axis subapertures are arranged on 5 rings around the central one. Since the subaperture is so small, its surface error is comparable with that of the TS reference error. Hence a self-calibrated stitching algorithm is proposed to separate the reference error from the measurements. Another serious problem is the nonlinear mapping between the subapertures local coordinates and the full apertures global coordinates. The nonlinearity increases remarkably with the off-axis angle. As a result, we cannot directly remove power from the full aperture error map as we usually do. Otherwise incorrect spherical aberration will be generated. We therefore propose the sphericity assessment algorithm to match the stitched surface error with a best-fit sphere. The residual is true surface error which can be used for corrective figuring or for tolerance assessment. The self-calibrated stitching and troubleshooting are demonstrated experimentally.

Calculation of subaperture aspheric departure in lattice design for subaperture stitching interferometry

We demonstrate a method to solve the main problem involved in lattice design for subaperture stitching interferometry. That is calculation of the aspheric departure of a subaperture whose location is given arbitrarily. The simulated measurement data with unknown phase values are transformed into the global model frame, which satisfy the nominal surface equation. Then the phase values can be solved and used to calculate the aspheric departure with piston, tilts, and power removed. Accordingly, the subaperture lattice is determined with preferred interferometer parameters.

Exact recovery of wavefront from multishearing interferograms in spatial domain

An exact algorithm based on the multishearing interferograms has been proposed to reconstruct a two-dimensional wavefront. It allows large shears and high resolution of the reconstructed wavefront to be achieved. In this paper, we use simultaneous linear equations to express the relationship between difference wavefronts and the unknown original wavefront, and then the least-squares method is applied to reconstruct the wavefront. To solve the memory problem, an improved wavefront reconstruction algorithm based on virtual subaperture stitching was proposed to improve the calculation efficiency. Lastly, numerical simulations are implemented and the proposed algorithm is compared with another modal and zonal method. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm is capable of reconstructing continuous or discontinuous wavefronts exactly with a large grid. Numerical simulation also shows high accuracy recovery capability of the proposed method in the existence of mixed noise.