SPONSORED: WAVEFRONT SENSING
in popularity of the Shack- Hartmann technique. He said: ‘Over the last 25 years, it’s been picking up, both in terms of technology and also becoming more accurate. The technique is a very versatile solution that can be used in the lab, it can be used in the field, it’s very insensitive to vibration and frequency shifts, and able to measure at the intended wavelength of use of the optics.’ In 2019, Pro-Lite Technology
partnered with Imagine Optic for the launch of its Shack- Hartmann wavefront sensors for laser and lens testing. More recently, the latter introduced the Optical Engineer Companion – an optical metrology system comprising compatible and complementary optical hardware, software and accessories. Mistry said: ‘Imagine Optic is the leader when it comes to specification and in terms of accuracy, reduced errors and more. The products are really top of the range, and while there are cheaper solutions out there,
“Improvements have opened up further applications in the field”
it depends on the application and the degree of accuracy required. For high-end scientific applications, the Imagine Optics kit is incredibly good.’ In terms of applications to which the technique lends itself, Mistry explained that the latest generation of modules allow for numerous market opportunities. ‘We have quite a broad wavelength range these can work in with the various different HASO modules. So, from 350 to 1,100nm for the standard sensors, visible to the near-infrared. There are also the shortwave IR sensors that are used a lot in telecoms and datacoms.’
Application opportunities Applications include free space communication and communication satellites, as
well as adaptive optics. Mistry elaborated: ‘One particular application is, if you think of the free space optics going out to a satellite in space, the turbulence in the atmosphere can cause problems. But you can measure that and use the optics to correct the wavefront. So, when it gets through, you’re getting all the information and you’re not losing anything. It’s very much for any kind of optical system, so if it’s an imaging system, a vision system, anything where you’re introducing components, you can then measure them.’ Systems such as those
referenced above can also be used for high-powered laser applications, such as those used at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire. These are for measuring the wavefront of the petawatt laser when a small amount of the energy is picked off. ‘But with something like this,’ continued Mistry, ‘they could then characterise components and ask, “well,
actually, what if there’s a problem?” or if there’s a diagnosis tool, or even if it’s a case of “we’re thinking of putting this optic in from a new manufacturer, let’s see how it works”. It can be a research and development tool, it can be a quality checking tool, so basically anyone working with optics and imaging should be interested in this technique.’ Looking to the future of this
technology, Mistry believes the rate at which it is being developed will continue. ‘Things like resolution are always being improved,’ he explained. ‘Each of the sensors in the HASO range has a different number of micro lenses, for example. The more you have, the more points you can measure, so the more of the beam you are sampling. That’s always evolving, as are the algorithms on the software, in terms of increasing the spatial resolution. Ultimately, I think the evolution of the technology is going to be driven by what the markets demand.’ EO
New white paper now online
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LENS SYSTEM INSPECTION USING SHACK-HARTMANN WAVEFRONT SENSORS
This white paper will review the theory of Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensing and explain how it can be used to simply and quickly assess the quality of optical systems.
www.electrooptics.com/white-papers
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