Large-aperture Aspheric Mirror Research Articles

Film thickness uniformity of deep ultraviolet large aperture aspheric mirror

The predecessor of China Optics was China Optics and Applied Optics Digest, which was founded in 1985. At that time, it was the only retrieval journal in the field of optics in China. At the end of 2008, China Optics and Applied Optics Digest was renamed

Overview of advanced manufacturing technology of large-aperture aspheric mirror

The aspheric surface can correct the system aberration and improve the image quality in the optical imaging system, in addition to that it can simplify the system structure significantly; On the other hand, the resolution of imaging system can be increased by improving the system aperture. Therefore, in the domain of basic scientific research, astronomical cosmological exploration and military defense security the large-aperture aspheric mirrors are all highly required. The manufacturing of large-aperture aspheric mirrors plays a critical role in modern optical engineering. This paper focuses on the advanced manufacturing techniques of large-aperture aspheric mirrors. The optical manufacturing technologies, especially the grinding and polishing techniques of large-aperture aspheric mirrors in the past half century and the surface shape testing methods during the grinding and polishing process, are reviewed. In particular, it summarizes the technical characteristics of advanced (new generation) optical manufacturing, and looks forward to the future manufacturing strategy of large-diameter aspheric mirrors.

Testing of large-aperture aspheric mirrors using a single coated lens.

The measurement of aspheric surfaces is very difficult and challenging. An optical system with a single coated lens is proposed for measuring large-aperture aspheric convex/concave surfaces. In this system, the first surface of the compensator is used as an auto-collimation surface, which can realize high-precision null compensation. Based on the third-order aberration theory, the initial design parameters of the system are obtained by analytical calculation, and the parameters are then optimized numerically. An oblate spheroid with an equivalent aperture of 426 mm is taken as an example, and the measuring accuracy of the proposed method can achieve 0.0063λ rms.

Three-dimensional shape measurement of large-aperture aspheric mirrors by off-axis null Ronchi test

An off-axis null Ronchi test is presented to measure the three-dimensional (3D) shape of a large-aperture aspheric mirror. The method designs curved fringe patterns as null sinusoidal gratings by means of phase information and ray tracing. In the process of measurement, the curved fringe patterns are displayed on a transmission-type liquid crystal display (T-LCD) screen, and a CCD camera records the fringe patterns containing the information of deviations of the mirror. The slopes of the deviations of the mirror are obtained by using the recorded fringe patterns. The deviations are restored by integrating, and then the 3D shape of the mirror can be reconstructed. Compared with the classical null Ronchi test, the method can provide enough measured data points and avoid the jagged edges of bands on the null gratings. Moreover, the method can conveniently change period and direction of the curved fringes and accurately control phase shifting. Computer simulations and a preliminary experiment are presented to show the performance of the method.