Correction for mapping errors in non-null test of aspheric surface

Abstract

The non-null testing methods have the potential to allow measurement of aspheric surfaces with large departures from a reference sphere. In a non-null configuration, the ray will return along a different path and interfere with a different reference ray. This difference in ''mapping" between the test and reference rays creates an additional optical path difference (OPD) contribution, which causes test part errors to be mapped to the wrong location. To correct the mapping errors in non-null test of aspheric surface, correction method are proposed by ray trace and wave-front analysis. Experiments are carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of this approach. The methods can work well, despite large deviation between the theoretic value of the aspheric and the reference wave-front.