We present a new type of Shack-Hartmann sensor. Replacing the static microlens array in a Shack-Hartmann sensor by a liquid crystal display results in a greater measurement flexibility. The liquid-crystal display in the adaptive Shack-Hartmann Sensor is used for the generation of an array of Fresnel microlenses. The design parameters of the microlenses like focal length, number of lenses, position, and aperture size can be quickly adapted to solve difficult measurement tasks. Furthermore the adaptive Shack-Hartmann sensor allows a pre-correction of the hologram to the wave-front to take care of larger aberrations and to achieve a higher measurement accuracy. We compare the adaptive sensor with a conventional Shack-Hartmann sensor and discuss new strategies to determine the wave-front that are possible with this active system.

Date Published: 30 May 2003
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 5144, Optical Measurement Systems for Industrial Inspection III, (30 May 2003); doi: 10.1117/12.499543

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5144:
Optical Measurement Systems for Industrial Inspection III
Wolfgang Osten; Malgorzata Kujawinska; Katherine Creath, Editor(s)