Optical wavefront sensing system

The method of determining wavefront tilt in a light beam by:

• (a) focusing the light beam onto an optical divider;
• (b) dividing the beam into "n"-separate beams by said optical divider;
• (c) focusing the wavefront pupil onto "n"-photodetector arrays where "n">1, each of which is disposed in a plane conjugate to the input pupil of the light beam and each of which comprises "S"-photodetectors, where "S">1;
• (d) detecting the intensity of light impinging on each "S"-photodetector;
• and
• (e) comparing the intensity of corresponding "S"-photodetectors in each "n"-array.

An optical system for correcting light beam distortion comprising:

• (a) focusing means for focusing said light beam at a predetermined point on an optical divider where said beam is divided into "n"-reflected beams, where "n">1;
• (b) "n"-detector arrays each of which is in the path of one of said "n"-reflected beams each array having "S" subapertures where "S">1;
• and
• (c) each array having at least one detector element corresponding to each of the "S" subapertures of the light beam to be corrected;
• said detector elements being sensitive to the quantity of light impinging thereon.

Apparatus comprising in combination:

• (a) imaging means for focusing a light beam of an image of an object onto a beam dividing means whereby the image is divided into "n"-parts, in which "n" is greater than 1;
• (b) "n"-detector arrays each having "S"-detector elements, where "S" is equal to or greater than 2;
• (c) one each of said arrays being associated with one each of said "n"-parts such that each of the "n"-parts is detected by a plurality of detector elements;
• and
• (d) combining means for combining the signals detected by said "S"-detectors to form an electrical signal proportional to the amount of distortion of said focused image.

Apparatus comprising in combination:

• (a) imaging means for focusing a light beam of an image of an object onto a beam dividing means whereby the image is divided into "n"-parts, in which "n" is greater than 1;
• (b) "n"-detector arrays each having "S"-detector elements, where "S" is equal to or greater than 2;
• (c) one each of said arrays being associated with one each of said "n"-parts such that each of the "n"-parts is detected by at least one detector element in each of the "n"-detector arrays;
• (d) combining means for combining the signals detected by said "S"-detectors to form an electrical control signal proportional to the amount of distortion of said focused image;
• (e) nutating means for rotating said light beam about said beam dividing means so that the control signal from the combining means alternates in polarity;
• (f) processing means for applying a signal proportional to a stored algorithm to said control signal to optimize the signal in accordance with an "a priori" knowledge of a characteristic of the object being imaged.

An optical system for correcting light beam distortion comprising:

• (a) focusing means for focusing said light beam at a predetermined point on an optical divider where said beam is divided into "n"-reflected beams, where "n">1;
• (b) "n"-detector arrays each of which is in the path of one of said "n"-reflected beams each array having "S" subapertures where "S">1;
• and
• (c) each array having at least one detector element corresponding to each of the "S" subapertures of the light beam to be corrected;
• said detector elements being sensitive to the quantity of light impinging thereon;
• (d) the "n"-detector arrays comprising an electron beam mode device having:
• (i) an area to linear beam converter;
• (ii) an ellipsoidal mirror for focusing the beam from the converter onto an opaque cathode wherein photoelectrons are generated in response to photons impinging on said cathode;
• and
• (iii) a linear self-scanned diode array in the path of said electron beam for converting said photoelectrons into a parallel output signal proportional to the intensity of the original light beam versus time.

The method of determining wavefront tilt in a light beam by:

• (a) focusing the light beam onto an optical divider;
• (b) dividing the beam into "n"-separate beams by said optical divider;
• (c) focusing the wavefront pupil onto "n"-photodetector arrays where "n">1, each of which is disposed in a plane conjugate to the input pupil of the light beam and each of which comprises "S"-photodetectors, where "S">1;
• (d) detecting the intensity of light impinging on each "S"-photodetector;
• and
• (e) comparing the intensity of corresponding "S"-photodetectors in at least two of the "n"-arrays.