The Sine Condition Test Plus: Development of a Novel Alignment Method using Deflectometry and the Sine Condition Test

Abstract

An appropriate alignment plan is crucial for constructing optical systems that provides good image quality. This dissertation introduces the Sine Condition Test Plus (SCT+), a novel alignment method that combines deflectometry and the sine condition to create a highly advantageous alignment approach. Using a camera and monitor, it can measure the state of alignment for both off- and on-axis performances with a simple on-axis setup. Also, it can be a cost-effective as its components, a monitor and a camera, are substituted for the return optic and the interferometer required in a conventional interferometric method. The concept of the SCT+ is explained using a meter-class telescope as an example. Then, its validity is first shown with alignment simulations, including potential noise and errors in real systems. The simulation results support the idea that the SCT+ has great potential in alignment by showing that there were two orders of magnitude improvements in the state of alignment, even without accurate positional adjustments of the monitor, one of the testing components of the SCT+. In addition, this dissertation presents experimental results of the SCT+ applied to an air-space doublet. The experimental demonstration fulfills two major goals: to validate the theory by comparing the prediction of the Zemax model and the measured data with the SCT+ and to check the performance of the SCT+ with the verified interferometric method. The state of alignment measured with the SCT+ matched the Zemax prediction and interferometer within the expected uncertainty. In conclusion, the simulated and experimental demonstration strongly highlights the SCT+'s potential for efficient and effective alignment of optical systems. The SCT+ method simplifies the alignment process. Furthermore, it can perform accurate optical alignment with a camera and a monitor.