Surface figure metrology for reflective membrane mirrors based on phase-measuring deflectometry
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
2025-11-17 v1 Optics
Abstract
Reflective membrane mirrors provide a lightweight, low-cost alternative to traditional optics for next-generation large-aperture telescopes, but their non-rigid, thin structure poses challenges for surface metrology. We present a phase-measuring deflectometry (PMD) system enhanced with tailored ray-tracing and iterative reconstruction to enable non-contact measurement of large membrane optics. The system successfully characterizes the surface figure and evaluates the dynamic stability of a 1-meter Hencky-type membrane mirror. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of PMD as a practical metrology tool for future membrane-based telescope systems.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2511.11049,
title = {Surface figure metrology for reflective membrane mirrors based on phase-measuring deflectometry},
author = {Xin Yan and Zhi-Kang Zhuang and Fu-Jia Du and Wen Duan and Peilin Yin and Mo-Nong Yu and Guang Yang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.11049},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
16 pages and 14 figures. Front. Astron. Space Sci. in press