Wavefront sensor and method for determining differences in piston and tilt existing between several light beams

摘要

A wavefront analyzer is modified to simply determine the differences in amplitude and tilt which can exist between the different regions of an initial wavefront (S0). To achieve this, interference between two waves only is produced from beams (F1, F2) which come from neighboring regions on the initial wavefront. Such an analyzer can be used to coherently combine laser radiation produced by different sources arranged in parallel. Another use is for the determination of the differences in height and inclination which exist between the neighboring mirror segments of a Keck telescope.