Tunable liquid crystal cylindrical micro-optical array for aberration compensation Articles uri icon

authors

  • ALGORRI GENARO, JOSE FRANCISCO
  • URRUCHI DEL POZO, VIRGINIA
  • BENNIS, NOUREDDINE
  • SANCHEZ PENA, JOSE MANUEL
  • OTON SANCHEZ, JOSE MANUEL

publication date

  • June 2015

start page

  • 13899

end page

  • 13915

issue

  • 11

volume

  • 23

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 1094-4087

abstract

  • A tunable aberration compensation device for rectangular micro-optical systems is proposed and demonstrated. This device, which is based in nematic liquid crystal and a micro-electrode structure, forms gradients in the index of refraction as a function of voltage. We have developed a fringe skeletonizing application in order to extract the 3D wavefront from an interference pattern. This software tool obtains the optical aberrations using Chebyshev polynomials. By using phase shifted electrical signals the aberrations can be controlled independently. A complete independent control over the spherical and coma aberration has been demonstrated. Also, an independent control over the astigmatism aberration has been demonstrated in a broad range. This device has promising applications where aberration compensation is required. The independent compensation achieved for some coefficients, such as astigmatism for example, is more than 2.4 waves. (C)2015 Optical Society of America