Measurements of aberrations of aspherical lenses using experimental ray tracing

Abstract

An experimental ray tracer for measuring the optical aberrations of aspherical lenses is presented. Setup is based on the principle of ray tracing which is used in optical design for virtually tracing rays through an optical system. This method has the potential to be used in aspherical lens testing because of its flexibility and high dynamic range. Wavefront aberrations can be calculated from results of experimental ray tracing. Furthermore the method offers the possibility of retrieval of aspherical surface profiles. Preliminary results with a plano-convex aspherical lens are compared with those obtained by a commercial surface profiler.