Grazing incidence interferometry for rough convex aspherics

TL;DR

This paper explores grazing incidence interferometry for rough convex aspheric surfaces, highlighting the method's limitations and proposing a rotational measurement approach to cover the entire surface.

Contribution

It introduces a technique for measuring rough convex aspherics using grazing incidence interferometry with a rotational method to extend surface coverage.

Findings

Meridional measurement is feasible in a single step.

Rotating the aspheric allows full surface measurement.

Method adapts grazing incidence interferometry for complex surfaces.

Abstract

Grazing incidence interferometry has been applied to rough planar and cylindrical surfaces. As suitable beam splitters diffractive optical phase elements are quite common because these allow for the same test sensitivity for all surface points. But a rotational-symmetric convex aspheric has two curvatures which reduces the measurable region to a meridian through the vortex of the aspheric, which is in contrast to cylindrical surfaces having a one-dimensional curvature which allows the test of the whole surface in gracing incidence. The meridional limitation for rotational-symmetric aspherics nevertheless offers the possibility to measure single meridians in a one-step measurement. An extension to the complete surface can be obtained by rotating the aspheric around its vortex within the frame of the test interferometer.