Related papers: Estimation of transmitted wavefronts at defocused …
We propose and implement a broadband, compact, and low-cost wavefront sensing scheme by simply placing a thin diffuser in the close vicinity of a camera. The local wavefront gradient is determined from the local translation of the speckle…
Differential wavefront sensing is an essential technique for optimising the performance of many precision interferometric experiments. Perhaps the most extensive application of this is for alignment sensing using radio-frequency beats…
The use of Wavefront Sensors (WFS) is nowadays fundamental in the field of instrumental optics. This paper discusses the principle of an original and recently proposed new class of WFS. Their principle consists in evaluating the slopes of…
If the optical system of a telescope is perturbed from rotational symmetry, the Zernike wavefront aberration coefficients describing that system can be expressed as a function of position in the focal plane using spin-weighted Zernike…
Wave front sensing of the surface of equal phase for a propagating electromagnetic wave is a vital technology in fields ranging from real time adaptive optics, to high accuracy metrology, to medical optometry. We have developed a new method…
To directly image Earth-like planets, contrast levels of 10^-8 - 10^-10 are required. The next generation of instruments will need wavefront control below the nanometer level to achieve these goals. The Zernike wavefront sensor (ZWFS) is a…
We report an extensive numerical study and supporting experimental results on the spectral characterization of optical aberrations in macroscopic fluidic lenses with tunable focal distance and aperture shape. Using a Shack-Hartmann…
In space-based gravitational wave detection, the estimation of far-field wavefront error of the distorted beam is the precondition for the noise reduction. Zernike polynomials is used to describe the wavefront error of the transmitted…
In astronomy or biological imaging, refractive index inhomogeneities of e.g. atmosphere or tissues induce optical aberrations which degrade the desired information hidden behind the medium. A standard approach consists in measuring these…
In the last two decades many people have been searching for the optimal wavefront sensor as it can boost the performance of high-contrast imagining by orders of magnitude on the ELTs. According classical information theory, the optimal…
This paper studies the effects on Zernike coefficients of aperture scaling, translation and rotation, when a given aberrated wavefront is described on the Zernike polynomial basis. It proposes a new analytical method for computing the…
Continuous wavefront sensing benefits space observatories in on-orbit optical performance maintenance. To measure the phase of a wavefront, phase retrieval is an attractive technique as it uses multiple point spread function (PSF) images…
Adaptive optics systems are critical in any application where highly resolved imaging or beam control must be performed through a dynamic medium. Such applications include astronomy and free-space optical communications, where light…
The Zernike wavefront sensor (ZWFS) stands out as one of the most sensitive optical systems for measuring the phase of an incoming wavefront, reaching photon efficiencies close to the fundamental limit. This quality, combined with the fact…
We investigate interferometric techniques to estimate the deflection angle of an optical beam and compare them to the direct detection of the beam deflection. We show that quantum metrology methods lead to a unifying treatment for both…
Context. Solar wavefront sensing has been a challenge for astrophysical instrumentalists, due to the low contrast between the Sun and the sky background compared to night-time observations, which limits the performance of adaptive optics…
We report on the design of an all-mirror wavefront-division interferometer capable of spectroscopic studies across multiple spectral ranges$\unicode{x2013}$from the plasma frequencies of metals to terahertz wavelengths and beyond. The…
Diverse applications in photonics and microwave engineering require a means of measurement of the instantaneous frequency of a signal. A photonic implementation typically applies an interferometer equipped with three or more output ports to…
Future space telescopes with coronagraph instruments will use a wavefront sensor (WFS) to measure and correct for phase errors and stabilize the stellar intensity in high-contrast images. The HabEx and LUVOIR mission concepts baseline a…
The Hartmann test is a method used to measure the wavefront error in a focal optical system, wherein a mask with a pattern of small holes is placed at the system's aperture stop. By taking an image at a defocused plane, the differences…