Deformation of a spherical lens caused by its own weight

摘要

This paper presents a method for calculation of a surface deformation of a spherical lens or a plane-parallel plate caused by its own weight. Formulas for the case of support at the edge or for the inner radius support are presented. Since it is not possible to find an analytical solution with appropriate boundary conditions, this paper presents numerical methods enabling us to calculate an approximate solution. The mentioned deflection has enormous impact in the field of optical metrology of large lenses where it has to be taken into account during precise measurements. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America