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Effect of surface manufacturing error of cubic phase mask in wavefront coding system
Chuan-Chung Chang1, Cheng-Chung Lee
1Department of Optics and Photonics, National Central University, Chung-Li 320, Taiwan. chuanchungchang@itri.org.tw
Optics Express
|April 15, 2009
Summary
Degenerated performance in extended depth of field (EDoF) wavefront coding systems using cubic phase masks was simulated. Surface errors must be less than 15% of the cubic surface sag to maintain low-period error performance.
Area of Science:
- Optical Engineering
- Image Processing
- System Simulation
Background:
- Wavefront coding (WCS) systems enhance depth of field (EDoF) using phase masks.
- Cubic phase masks are commonly used in WCS but are sensitive to surface errors.
- Degraded performance of EDoF systems impacts practical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To simulate and analyze the performance degradation of EDoF WCS with cubic phase masks.
- To investigate the impact of periodical rotationally symmetric surface errors.
- To establish tolerance limits for surface errors in cubic phase masks.
Main Methods:
- Simulation of EDoF WCS performance using cubic phase masks.
- Modeling of periodical rotationally symmetric surface error structures.
- Comparison of point spread function (PSF) similarity under different error conditions.
Main Results:
- The performance of EDoF WCS degenerates significantly with cubic phase mask surface errors.
- A specific surface error structure was identified and analyzed.
- Peak-to-valley (PV) error tolerance was determined to be less than 15% of the cubic surface sag for low-period errors.
Conclusions:
- Surface error control is critical for maintaining EDoF performance in WCS with cubic phase masks.
- The 15% PV error threshold provides a guideline for fabricating high-performance cubic phase masks.
- Further research can explore adaptive optics or error compensation techniques.
