In the present work, we propose a novel reference-less wavefront sensing method in a grating array-based wavefront sensor (GAWS). The proposed sensing method utilizes both +1 and -1 diffraction orders. The key idea is that when there is a local tilt in the wavefront, the array of +1 and -1 diffracted spots move in opposite directions due to their optical phase conjugate relationship but share a common reference position. By determining the displacement of these spots, the reference position can be precisely determined, and the local slope can be extracted from which the incident wavefront can be estimated. The proposed sensing method facilitates wavefront estimation using a single camera frame and is compatible with standard wavefront estimation algorithms. This proposed method proves particularly advantageous in scenarios where a highquality wavefront is unavailable as a reference. We have validated the effectiveness of our proposed method through simulation results.
Digital holography microscopy (DHM) has emerged as a powerful digital holographic imaging technique for dynamic three-dimensional phase reconstruction of microscopic samples. Recently, a Fresnel biprism has been introduced into the conventional DHM arrangement, making the configuration common path, off-axis and eliminating the requirement for different optical components, such as, beam-splitter, mirrors, etc. The recorded hologram in a DHM is mostly contaminated with speckle noise, which makes it difficult to interpret the phase information correctly. In the present work, we investigate the phase reconstruction accuracy in a Fresnel biprism based DHM, utilizing different Fourier terms, in the presence of low and high coherent sources. Different Fourier terms has been realised by modifying the recorded hologram in order to minimize the contribution of speckle noise in the reconstructed phase. Proof-of-concept simulation and experimental results are included for blood sample to demonstrate the accuracy in phase reconstruction in a Fresnel biprism based DHM.
Conventional two-mirror optical telescope designs are well known. An attempt to improve the performance of a two-mirror telescopic system using freeform surface is reported. Four variants of the optical design that use symmetric and off-axis freeform surfaces for achieving superior performances in the spectral range from 400 to 900 nm are proposed. These designs are compared with the conventional Ritchey–Chretien and equivalent two-mirror off-axis telescope designs with rotationally symmetric surfaces. The optical design with freeform surfaces shows marked improvements compared with its counterpart comprising of conics and higher order aspherics. The incorporation of freeform surfaces is obtained by an overlay of fringe Zernike polynomial either on the base sphere or on the conic itself, which is used as a surface descriptor in the envisaged designs. This approach aids in correction of asymmetrical aberrations and also extends the performances to a wider field, which is quite advantageous in the case of off-axis (de-centered and tilted) optical systems.
A method for measurement of misalignment in an optical system using wavefront sensing in a two-lens telescopic system is reported. Using Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor data and ABCD matrix, mapping between Zernike coefficients with known misalignment of optical system is carried out. Results are validated experimentally using a two-lens telescopic system, and then compared with simulated values of a Ritchey-Chretien telescopic system for measuring misalignment. Also, it was demonstrated that ABCD matrix can only work for on-axis misalignment estimation and cannot work for off-axis.
The deformation of the optical surfaces of a large aperture high-resolution space-borne optical system induced by earth’s gravity on the ground, which is not present during in-orbit operations, necessitates the evaluation of its performance in terms of wavefront error at various stages of development of the earth observation system. A direct method of evaluation for an optical system at an integrated electro-optical module based on a Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor (SH WFS) is proposed. Design and analysis of the wavefront sensor that are tailored to meet the requirements of the high-resolution optical system are described. We show that the procedure followed for the development of the SH WFS not only addresses the parameters of the wavefront sensor that are critical to its performance, but also aides in the wavefront sensor alignment and calibration. The performance of the developed SH WFS is demonstrated by testing a simulated telescope which is in situ verified in a test configuration using a standard Fizeau interferometer; a close match of the coefficients of Zernike modes between them is established.
A noninterferometric technique used to measure the diffusion coefficients of transparent liquid solutions is reported. This technique uses a white light source and a diffusion cell, with an artificially developed fringe pattern of dark and white stripes at its entrance. As the diffusion process takes place in the cell, the light passing through this nonuniform refractive index medium will bend toward the higher refractive index region, which results in a fringe shift. This shift in the fringe pattern at different times is recorded in a personal computer (PC) using a CCD camera for the calculation of diffusion coefficients. The fringe shift is calculated after skeletonization and linear fit of the captured fringe system. The diffusion coefficient of different concentrations of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate was determined using the proposed technique and the measured values lay within 1% of the reported values. Detailed theoretical and experimental analyses with a comparison of other existing results are discussed.
We propose an experimental method consisting of a standard Fizeau interferometer with transmission sphere (TS) for the determination of the focal length of microlens array (MLA) by spherical wavefronts. The TS is axially translated to produce a spherical wavefront of different curvatures with respect to the MLA. The align mode provision of the interferometer helps to monitor the tilt of the MLA with respect to the spherical wavefront. The focal length is determined from the measured distance of adjacent image spots for various spherical wavefronts at the focal plane of the MLA. Error analysis and experimental demonstration with an off-the-shelf MLA are addressed here.
We have proposed a method to determine the focal length of microlens array (MLA) based on the measurement of transverse displacement of image spot in the focal plane for a change of angle of incidence of plane wavefront. An existing interferometer test setup, meant for the surface figure measurement of MLA substrate, along with a charge-coupled device (CCD) is used for this purpose. The interferometer generates as well as measures the angle of incidence of plane wavefront at the MLA, and the transverse displacement of the image spot is determined from images recorded with the CCD. We have also discussed the theory of estimation of the focal length of MLA with spherical wavefront. Error analysis is carried out for both methods and is compared. The proposed plane wavefront method is experimentally demonstrated with an off-the-shelf MLA, and the measured focal length is within 1% of catalogue value.
A method to test beamsplitters using Michelson interferometer is proposed. The visibility of the interference fringes is used for the beam ratio calculations. The beam ratios of all the interfering beams at the detector plane can be determined using this method.
A method to measure diffusion coefficient of transparent liquid solutions using digital holographic inteferometry is described. Holograms of a diffusively reflecting object through the experimental cell containing the diffusing solutions are recorded at different time instances. The recording medium is a CCD chip. The holographic interference of the object at two instances of time is numerically carried out in a PC and is used to determine the diffusion coefficient. Holographic interference fringes can be displayed on a PC monitor. The diffusion coefficients calculated using this method matched very well with literature values.
New techniques to test beamsplitter and polarizer using photorefractive crystals are described. A test for collimation using photorefractive material is also explained. Photorefractive BTO (Bismuth Titanium Oxide) in two wave mixing geometry is used in these methods. The method uses the diffraction efficiency of two wave mixing as the parameter for testing.
Three simple optical methods to determine diffusion coefficients in transparent liquids are discussed. The methods use multiple beam interferometer, Michelson's interferometer and fringe projection respectively for determining the diffusion coefficients. All these methods were found to yield accurate results.
A simple technique to determine the diffusion coefficient in transparent liquids is developed. The method uses fringe projection with white light source. The diffusion coefficients obtained were compared with those obtained with other experimental methods.
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