Simple methods for estimating the performance and specification of optical components with anisotropic mid-spatial frequency surface errors.

Specification and tolerancing of surfaces with mid-spatial frequency (MSF) errors are challenging and require new tools to augment simple surface statistics to better represent the structured characteristics of these errors. A novel surface specification method is developed by considering the structured and anisotropic nature of MSF errors and their impact on the modulation transfer function (MTF). The result is an intuitive plot of bandlimited RMS error values in polar coordinates which contains the surface error anisotropy information and enables an easy to understand acceptance criterion.

The Minimum Modulation Curve as a tool for specifying optical performance: application to surfaces with mid-spatial frequency errors.

There are a variety of common situations in which specification of a one-dimensional modulation transfer function (MTF) or two orthogonal profiles of the 2D MTF are not adequate descriptions of the image quality performance of an optical system. These include systems with an asymmetric on-axis impulse response, systems with off-axis aberrations, systems with surfaces that include mid-spatial frequency errors, and freeform systems. In this paper, we develop the concept of the Minimum Modulation Curve (MMC).

Predictive models for the Strehl ratio of diamond-machined optics.

This paper provides a practical connection between the Strehl ratio as an optical performance metric and manufacturing parameters for diamond-machined optics. The choice of fabrication parameters impacts residual mid-spatial frequency groove structures over the part's surface, which reduce optical performance. Connections between the Strehl ratio and the fabrication parameters are studied using rigorous Rayleigh-Sommerfeld simulations for a sample optical system.