Modeling interferometers with lens design software: beyond ray-based approaches

Bryan D. Stone; Kevin P. Thompson

doi:10.1117/12.826665

1 October 2009 Modeling interferometers with lens design software: beyond ray-based approaches

Bryan D. Stone, Kevin P. Thompson

Proceedings Volume 7427, Optical Modeling and Performance Predictions IV; 74270A (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.826665
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2009, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

There are a variety of aspects of interferometers that can be well-modeled by using rays. For example, ray-based models allow predictions to be made regarding the changes to a measurement when aberrations are introduced into the input wavefront. However, there are other aspects that are more difficult (or impossible) to model well with ray-based approaches. For instance, when a surface under test is not conjugate to the detector, the effects due to diffraction from the edge of the surface cannot be modeled with ray-based approaches. Modern lens design software generally includes tools for modeling beam propagation. These tools can be used to go beyond conventional ray-based modeling of interferometers. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of these beam propagation tools by modeling various aspects of a point-diffraction interferometer that go beyond solely ray-based approaches.

Citation Download Citation

Bryan D. Stone and Kevin P. Thompson "Modeling interferometers with lens design software: beyond ray-based approaches", Proc. SPIE 7427, Optical Modeling and Performance Predictions IV, 74270A (1 October 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.826665

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