Method of circular aperture sampling for wavefront analysis

Mingli Zhang; Liren Liu; Zhu Luan; Lingyu Wan; Lijuan Wang

doi:10.1117/12.557907

20 October 2004 Method of circular aperture sampling for wavefront analysis

Mingli Zhang, Liren Liu, Zhu Luan, Lingyu Wan, Lijuan Wang

Proceedings Volume 5550, Free-Space Laser Communications IV; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.557907
Event: Optical Science and Technology, the SPIE 49th Annual Meeting, 2004, Denver, Colorado, United States

Abstract

It is required for the laser communication that laser beam transmitted from the optical terminal must be highly parallel. Optical diffraction limit angle is the minimum divergence the beam can obtain while limited by the definite aperture under ideal conditions, here wavefront still has an error of 0.3 wave. This paper introduces a new method for wavefront analysis. In this method a circular aperture diaphragm used to sample the tested wavefront, a focusing lens, a microscope objective and a fiber optic probe are arranged coaxial. Axial intensity profile behind the focusing lens is plotted by registering the positions of the microscope objective on the axis and the readings of the radiometer. The sampled wavefront height is estimated from the distance between two symmetrical positions along the axis where the intensity is zero. The tested wavefront height is calculated from the sampled wavefront height. The theory and the simulation results are given. It can be applied in coarse measurement of any wavelength laser wavefront. Due to simplicity of the method and its low cost, it is a promising method for checking the collimation of a laser beam.

Citation Download Citation

Mingli Zhang, Liren Liu, Zhu Luan, Lingyu Wan, and Lijuan Wang "Method of circular aperture sampling for wavefront analysis", Proc. SPIE 5550, Free-Space Laser Communications IV, (20 October 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.557907

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