Method of reconstructing wavefront aberrations by use of Zernike polynomials in radial shearing interferometers

Abstract

A novel method of reconstructing wavefront aberrations by use of Zernike polynomials for radial shearing interferometers is discussed. This method uses matrix formalism to calculate the Zernike coefficients of a wavefront under test and shows the validity of reconstructing an arbitrary wavefront aberration from an interferogram taken by a radial shearing interferometer. We also propose a new interferometer setup to determine the shape and the direction (concave or convex) of wavefront aberration in a single measurement. © 2007 Optical Society of America.