An Instrument for Inspecting Aspheric Optical Surfaces and Components

This is a Phase II SBIR proposal to develop an extremely versatile optical inspection tool for aspheric optical components and optics that are not easily inspected with conventional interferometry. Modern optical design and manufacturing procedures have begun using such components more and more in routine applications to improve optical system capability. Since the optical tolerances achieved in the manufacture of such components have an important bearing on the performance capabilities of the systems that employ them, instrumentation and techniques for precision metrology are vital for quality assurance. Inspection tools required for these types of optical components have lagged the capability to manufacture them. The proposed work will build upon a successful Phase I project that demonstrated the feasibility of a novel technique for full aperture precision metrology of such optical components. In Phase II we will deliver a complete turnkey instrument based on the Phase I research. The instrument incorporates an extremely robust, reliable, and accurate wavefront sensor for precision metrology of a transmitted or reflected wavefront, together with a projection system that covers the full aperture. Achieved through a unique combination of digital holographic interferometry, Hartmann wavefront sensing, and adaptive optics the resulting instrument will be an extremely flexible tool.