초록 ▼

A complex optical system may be maintained in alignment by means of a technique in which an analytical model of the system is utilized which is assumed to be capable of essentially optimal performance. A physical example of the same system design is then assembled and a plurality of performance char

A complex optical system may be maintained in alignment by means of a technique in which an analytical model of the system is utilized which is assumed to be capable of essentially optimal performance. A physical example of the same system design is then assembled and a plurality of performance characteristics are measured related to the intensity function associated with a point source image on the system\s focal plane detector array. A plurality of specific adjustments are then calculated by means of a second order approximation technique which would have the effect of degrading the performance of the analytical model to equal that measured for the physical example, whereupon compensating physical adjustments are made to the physical example to improve its measured performance.

대표청구항 ▼

An improved method for aligning an optical system comprising the steps of: (a) creating an analytical model of a specific optical system design comprising a plurality of individual optical elements having respective optical characteristics and spatial relationships with each other; (b) assembling a

An improved method for aligning an optical system comprising the steps of: (a) creating an analytical model of a specific optical system design comprising a plurality of individual optical elements having respective optical characteristics and spatial relationships with each other; (b) assembling a complete physical optical system including individual optical elements with respective optical characteristics and spatial relationships having corresponding characteristics and spatial relationships to said analytical optical system model; (c) providing an object source to produce a reference image on the focal plane of the physical optical system; (d) measuring a plurality of predetermined intensity charactristics associated with the focal plane reference image of said physical optical system and producing a first set of representative signals; (e) calculating from said respresentative signals specific adjustments to the spatial relationships between optical elements in said analytical model so as to result in a modified analytical model providing a degraded calculated focal plane image intensity characteristic performance similar to the measured image intensity characteristics of said physical optical system for the same reference image, and (f) making physical adjustments to the corresponding spatial relationships of said physical optical system in response to said specific adjustments to said analytical model calculated in step (e).