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A PRACTICAL ALIGNMENT ALGORITHM FOR CASSEGRAIN TYPE TELESCOPES
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
BY
ESRA BENLİ ÖZTÜRK
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN
PHYSICS
AUGUST 2012
Approval of the thesis:
submitted by ESRA BENLİ ÖZTÜRK in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Master of Science in Physics Department, Middle East Technical University by,
Prof. Dr. Canan Özgen

Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences
Prof. Dr. Mehmet T. Zeyrek

Head of Department, Physics
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Akif Esendemir

Supervisor, Physics Department, METU
Examining Committee Members:
Assoc. Prof. Dr. H. Gül Yağlıoğlu

Physics Engineering Dept., Ankara University
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Akif Esendemir

Physics Dept., METU
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Parlak

Physics Dept., METU
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Enver Bulur

Physics Dept., METU
Assit. Prof. Dr. Sinan Kaan Yerli

Physics Dept., METU
Date:
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented
in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required
by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that
are not original to this work.
Name, Last Name: ESRA BENLİ ÖZTÜRK
Signature :
iii
ABSTRACT
Benli Öztürk, Esra

M.Sc., Department of Physics
Supervisor : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Akif Esendemir
August 2012, 74 pages
Focal plane corrected Cassegrain type optical systems have been widely used in various fields.
The axial alignment of complex optical systems is not easy and a practical alignment method
is needed for such systems. Tilts, decenters and axial motion of elements or group of ele-
ments in the system are the typical alignment parameters. Interferometric measurement is
an effective way to see the errors caused by the misalignment of each element in an optical
system. In this thesis, alignment of a Cassegrain type telescope will be examined by using
interferometric measurements and modulation transfer function simulations.
Keywords: Cassegrain, telescope, alignment, aberration
iv
ÖZ
CASSEGRAİN TİPİ TELESKOPLAR İÇİN PRATİK BİR EKSENLENME YÖNTEMİ
Benli Öztürk, Esra

Yüksek Lisans, Fizik Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi : Doç. Dr. Akif Esendemir
Ağustos 2012, 74 sayfa
Odak düzlemi düzeltilmiş Cassegrain tipi optik sistemler çeşitli alanlarda yaygın olarak kul-
lanılmaktadır. Karmaşık optik sistemlerin eksenel hizalanması kolay değildir ve bu tip sis-
temler için pratik bir eksenleme yöntemi gereksinimi duyulmaktadır. Sistemdeki elemanların
ya da eleman gruplarının eğimleri, merkezden kaçıklıkları ve eksenel hareketleri karakteristik
eksenleme parametreleridir. Interferometrik ölçümler bir optik sistemdeki her elemanın ek-
senden kaymasından kaynaklanan hataları görebilmek için etkin bir yoldur. Bu tezde, interfer-
ometrik ölçümler ve modülasyon transfer fonksiyonu simülasyonları kullanılarak, Cassegrain
tipi bir teleskopun eksenlenmesi incelenecektir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Cassegrain, teleskop, eksenleme,aberasyon
v
To my husband.
vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deepest appreciation and thanks to my supervisor
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Akif Esendemir. I am grateful for his guidance, patience, support and
friendship throughout my studies.
Secondly, I would like to thank to my husband for his support, patience, and encouragement.
He has supported me to write this thesis even if it was middle of the night.
I am deeply thankful to my friends Burcu Barutçu and Fatime Zehra Adil for their morale
support throughout my thesis process.
I can never forget Vural Köksal who has given me valuable suggestions and providing me the
documents I needed, and also I would like to thank to him for his friendship.
Finally, I would like to thank my family who has always supported me throughout my life
with endless love and patience.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
ÖZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
CHAPTERS
1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 The Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Objective of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Structure of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 MISALIGNMENT AND ABERRATION THEORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1 Misalignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Aberration Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.1 Spherical Aberration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2.2 Coma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.3 Astigmatism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2.4 Field Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.5 Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.2.6 Chromatic Aberration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3 Advantages of Cassegrain Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3 SURFACE QUALITY MEASUREMENT METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.1 Foucault-Knife Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.2 Ronchi Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
viii
3.3 Null Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.4 Hindle Sphere Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.5 Holography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4 THEORY OF INTERFERENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5 SYSTEM DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.1 Theory of Cassegrain Type Telescope Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.2 Design Parameters of the Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6 ALIGNING THE TELESCOPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.1 Lens Centering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.1.1 Lens Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.1.2 Centering Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.2 System Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
6.2.1 Flat Mirror Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6.2.2 Secondary Mirror Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6.2.2.1 Rough Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6.2.2.2 Fine Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
6.3 Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) Measurements . . . . . . . . . 57
6.3.1 Usability of MTF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
6.3.2 Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.3.3 Discussion of MTF Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
7 CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
APPENDICES
A MODULATION TRANSFER FUNCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
B ZYGO VERIFIRE XPZ INTERFEROMETER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
C OTEC 4000 COLLIMATOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
ix
LIST OF TABLES
TABLES
Table 1.1 World’s major telescopes and their telescope designs. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 2.1 Cassegrain designs and their limiting aberrations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Table 5.1 Conic constants, κ, and related conic surfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Table 5.2 Prescription data of Ritchey-Chrétien design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Table 5.3 Data of corrector elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Table 6.1 The centering data of corrector elements after the centering process has
finished. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Table B.1 Verifire XPZ Interferometer specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Table C.1 Specifications of the OTEC 4000 collimator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
x
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Despace, decenter, tip and tilt of an optical element. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Figure 2.2 Some possible cases of misalignment of Cassegrain telescope . . . . . . . 6
Figure 2.3 Reflection and refraction at the boundary separating two medium with dif-
ferent refractive indices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Figure 2.4 Illustration of ray and wave aberrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Figure 2.5 Representation of spherical aberration formed by a lens . . . . . . . . . . 10
Figure 2.6 Formation of coma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Figure 2.7 Illustration of formation of astigmatism for a simple lens . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 2.8 Petzval surface and tangential and sagittal surfaces representation in case
of astigmatism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Figure 2.9 Distorted images of rectilinear object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Figure 2.10 Chromatic aberration of a single lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 3.1 Schematic diagram of Foucault-knife test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Figure 3.2 Shadow pattern of an aspherical optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Figure 3.3 Ronchi test configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 3.4 Ronchigrams for different aberrations (a) defocus, (b) spherical aberration,
(c) coma, (d) spherical aberration with astigmatism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Figure 3.5 Dall Null test configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Figure 3.6 Ross Null test configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Figure 3.7 Waineo test setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Figure 3.8 Hindle sphere test configurations for different optics . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Figure 3.9 Setup for CGH as a null lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
xi
Figure 4.1 Diagram of Fresnel’s mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Figure 4.2 Amplitude division on a plane parallel plate with a point source. . . . . . . 30
Figure 4.3 Amplitude division on a plane parallel plate, fringes localized at infinity. . 30
Figure 4.4 Newton’s rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Figure 4.5 Interference formed by a plane parallel plate having small variations of
thickness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Figure 4.6 Fringes of equal thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Figure 4.7 Illustration of Newton interferometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Figure 4.8 Two perfect optical flats with a thin air gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Figure 4.9 Newton fringes for different surfaces with a flat reference . . . . . . . . . 34
Figure 5.1 Spherical and aspheric surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Figure 5.2 Cassegrain telescope layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Figure 5.3 Overview of the designed telescope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Figure 5.4 Focal plane corrected telescope overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Figure 6.1 Interferometric measurements of the lenses; (top two) two surfaces of the
lens 1, (middle two) two surfaces of the lens 2, (bottom two) two surfaces of the
lens 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Figure 6.2 Spherical optics centering machine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Figure 6.3 Parts of centering machine (a) Control screen where the data about center-
ing is displayed, (b) Centering chamber where the lenses are placed and centered,
(c) Sensor part which is sensitive to the laser beam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Figure 6.4 A picture of the lens holder and the micro positioners when the centering
process of the two lenses is finished. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Figure 6.5 A picture of the centering chamber and lens holder when the last lens was
centering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Figure 6.6 Schematic diagram of the test configuration. The outgoing beam from
the interferometer focus on the focal point of the telescope system, after passing
through the system it reflects off from the flat mirror and returns through the same
path it travels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
xii
Figure 6.7 The picture of the program showing the beams. The beam at the left upper
side is the beam reflecting from the flat mirror, and the other is the beam exiting
from the interferometer (reference beam). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Figure 6.8 Precision screws at the backside of the flat mirror, used to tilt the mirror
with respect to the optical axis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Figure 6.9 Interference pattern of the flat mirror. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Figure 6.10 Beam on the mount of the lens holder, which is the symmetrical red light
as shown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Figure 6.11 Beam at the pinhole. The white area is the screen, and at the center there is
a pinhole, where the red light (beam) is passing through. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Figure 6.12 Reflected beam seen at the screen. The outer red rings are coming from the
camera (which is taking the photographs), the small ring which is at right upper
side of the pinhole is the beam returning through the telescope after reflecting off
from the flat mirror. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Figure 6.13 Reflected beam seen on the “align” program. The bar patterns at the bottom
of the picture is the reflected beam and the beam at the upper side (at the middle
of the cross line) is the beam from the interferometer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Figure 6.14 Reflected beam after tilting the secondary mirror, it became nearly sym-
metrical around the center of the cross. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Figure 6.15 Reflected beam after despacing the secondary mirror slightly, the size of it
is reduced as shown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Figure 6.16 Final interference pattern of the telescope when the interferometric align-
ment process is completed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Figure 6.17 Interferometric measurement of the secondary mirror. . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Figure 6.18 The difference of the surface profile of the produced primary mirror from
the designed surface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Figure 6.19 MTF graph of PAN channel (data for 0.4150 to 0.9000 microns). . . . . . 57
Figure 6.20 MTF graphs of misaligned telescope (data for 0.4150 to 0.9000 microns). . 58
Figure 6.21 Schematic diagram of collimator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Figure 6.22 Measurement configuration of the collimator and the telescope. . . . . . . 60
xiii
Figure 6.23 Image of the target and the point of measurement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Figure 6.24 MTF graph of the image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Figure 6.25 Geometric projection of a single detector onto the earth’s surface. . . . . . 62
Figure A.1 Image of a bar pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Figure A.2 The decrease of modulation with the increasing frequency: MTF . . . . . 70
Figure A.3 Target of varying spatial frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Figure A.4 Target with increasing spatial frequency and the corresponding MTF graph 71
Figure A.5 The edge and line spread functions and the MTF curve . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Figure B.1 Zygo Verifire XPZ interferometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Figure C.1 Different OTEC collimators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
xiv
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Telescope
Since the dawn of time, part of the universe that could not be seen by naked eye has been won-
dered. This interest gave rise to an invention, called telescope. Telescope is approximately
400 years old. Its earliest recorded existence dates back to 1608, when Hans Lippershey ap-
plied to patent for a device which gave a magnified image of distant objects by using a certain
combination of lenses [1]. Galileo Galilei improved the first telescope by using a concave and
a convex lens on his design (1609), which is known as Galilean telescope today [1]. After the
death of Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton found that using reflecting focusing elements, which fo-
cuses all the colors at the same point, eliminate dispersion, and telescopes could be improved
by this way. This is the first practical reflective telescope and called the Newtonian telescope.
Telescope became sensational in Europe which led to the improvement of the technology and
different kind of telescope designs invented in the time.
Today there are several types of the telescopes that are categorized according to the elec-
tromagnetic radiation they can detect, such as optical telescopes, radio telescopes, X-ray
telescopes etc. The optical telescopes detect mainly the visible part of the electromagnetic
spectrum, which has a wavelength range of 400 to 700 nanometers. These telescopes work
based on the principle of gathering the beam of light coming from the distant objects, and
focusing them as they give a magnified and brighter image.
Optical telescopes can be studied in three main titles, according to the optical elements that
they use; refracting, reflecting and catadioptric telescopes. Basically, refractor (also called
dioptric) telescopes use a large lens (primary or objective) to bend the light towards a point of
1
focus, and a second lens (secondary or eyepiece) to magnify the image. The reflecting (also
called catoptric) telescopes use different combination of flat and curved mirrors instead of
lenses. A large curved primary mirror reflects the light coming from the object to a point of
focus. At this point of focus, there is another mirror called secondary which bends the light
into the eyepiece, where it is magnified. In order to form an image in the catadioptric type
telescopes, lenses and mirrors are combined to use both refraction and the reflection at the
same time. This type is generally used for aberration correction of other systems.
Cassegrain type telescope was produced by the Frenchman Cassegrain in 1672 [2]. Little is
known about Cassegrain, even his true name is uncertain; in many books his name is given
to be Guillaume, Laurent, Nicolas, and Jaques. Cassegrain telescope is a type of reflecting
telescope, with a convex hyperbolic secondary mirror placed through the center axis of a
centrally perforated concave parabolic primary mirror. This type is known as the Classical
Cassegrain, but there are various designs exist which are characterized by the curves used on
the mirrors.
Classical Cassegrain is modified in the Ritchey-Chrétien design, by using hyperbolic primary

and secondary to induce some aberrations, which is founded by George Willis Ritchey and
Henri Chrétien in 1910 [3]. Most of the research-graded astronomical large telescopes are
of Ritchey-Chrétien type. Another modified Cassegrain design is the Dall-Kirkham type in-
troduced in 1930s by Horace Dall, which uses a convex spherical secondary and a concave
ellipsoidal primary mirror [4]. Also there are off-axis Cassegrain designs that use the primary
and secondary mirrors mechanically deviated and tilted.
The designs described above are reflector type Cassegrain variations, but Cassegrain design
can also be used in the catadioptric systems, which are beyond the content of this study.
It can be seen from the Table 1.1 that, in the high-performance professional telescopes most
commonly the Cassegrain type, especially the Ritchey-Chrétien, telescopes are used. The
reasons will be mentioned in the later chapters.
2
Table 1.1: World’s major telescopes and their telescope designs.
1.2 Objective of the Study
The objective of this study is to propose a practical alignment method for Cassegrain type
telescopes. Since the Cassegrain systems are used in high performance optical imaging or
space observation systems, the image quality is of great importance.
The image quality of an optical system is mostly affected by the production quality of the
optical elements and the axial arrangement of these elements in the optical axis of the system.
If we consider the optical elements themselves that we can not intervene, the optical alignment
can be thought as the most important reason of the bad image quality.
To bring all of the elements in an optical system to a common axis, the optical axis, is called
the alignment of the system. Since the optical axes of the optical elements and surfaces are
3
imaginary, it is very hard to bring all of them in the same imaginary axis. In addition if the
system is misaligned this results in aberrations on the image, in other words, a decrease in
image quality. Alignment can be done by tilting, decentering and axially positioning of the
elements. However, as the number of elements in a system increase, the number of interde-
pendent variables is also increase, and makes the alignment a very complex task.
There is various alignment methods used in the world today, for different systems. With
the developing technology, new measurement tools and consequently new alignment meth-
ods arise. Interferometric measurement is an effective way to see the errors caused by the
misalignment. Therefore, in this thesis a practical alignment method based on the interfero-
metric measurements is proposed and the alignment of a Ritchey-Chrétien type telescope was
done using interferometric measurements. To prove the quality of the alignment, modulation
transfer function (MTF) measurements were used.
1.3 Structure of the Study
The structure of this study can be described in three basic parts: In the first part (chapter
2) causes and results of the misalignment have been discussed. The aberrations of differ-
ent optical elements with different geometrical structures have explained. The advantages
of Cassegrain type telescopes have been examined from an optical standpoint, in terms of
aberrations.
Since in interferometric alignment procedure the surface quality of each element have signif-
icant effects on the interferogram, in the second part (chapter 3, 4) some methods for testing
the optical surface quality have been explained, and the theory of interference and the inter-
ferometric fringe interpretations were investigated and presented.
In the third part (chapter 5, 6) the system design, specifications and the basic parameters of the
Ritchey-Chrétien telescope which was used for the alignment procedure has been given. The
alignment procedure was explained in detail, and the final MTF measurements were given.
Finally, the method has been overviewed; discussions and recommendations were made for
the future works.
4
CHAPTER 2
MISALIGNMENT AND ABERRATION THEORY
2.1 Misalignment
To understand the misalignment, it is important to define the optical axis of optical surfaces,
elements, and the system. The optical axis is an imaginary line defining the path of chief ray
propagation for radially symmetric systems. For a surface, the optical axis is defined as the
axis of rotational symmetry, passing through the geometrical center of the optical component.
For a mirror, optical axis is the line passing through the mirror’s center of curvature. And for
a lens, it joins the two centers of curvatures of its surfaces.
However, for an imaging system optical axis is defined as the axis that perpendicular to the
focal plane at the focal point. In addition, the optical axes of all the elements on a system
must lie on this imaginary axis.
Collection of all the optical elements to a common axis, optical axis, is called as “alignment”.
Accordingly, misalignment can be defined as any deviation of an optical surface from its op-
timum position. Misalignment is caused by the tip/tilt, decenter, despace or any combination
of these in the optical axis. Tip and tilt is defined as the rotations of optical surface about the
lateral axes, where decenter and despace as the shifts in its lateral positions as illustrated in
Figure 2.1.
As it can be understood from the figure, we can say that for an optical system each element
has 5 degrees of freedom, and we can also say that as the number of elements increase the
number of interdependent variables for a system also increases.
5
Figure 2.1: Despace, decenter, tip and tilt of an optical element.
For a perfectly aligned Cassegrain telescope, the two mirrors should be aligned with respect to
optical axis of the system and their centers should lie on this axis. In Figure 2.2 some possible
cases of misalignment of Cassegrain telescope are given. In (a) both of the mirrors are tilted
with respect to the optical axis and the principle axes of two mirrors do not coincide also, in
(b) only the secondary mirror is tilted, in (c) only the primary mirror is tilted, and in (d) both
of the mirrors are tilted with respect to the optical axis and the principle axes of two mirrors
coincide outside of the optical axis. In addition to these, misalignment of the telescope can be
caused by the despacing and decentering of the mirrors.
Figure 2.2: Some possible cases of misalignment of Cassegrain telescope [11]
6
Misalignment can lead to the formation of blurred image on the focal plane, or can cause the
image not to be formed on the focal plane. The image blurring is defined in terms of optical
aberrations. Therefore for alignment, it is important to understand the causes and results of
the optical aberrations.
2.2 Aberration Theory
An optical imaging system is formed by optical surfaces that refract or reflect light rays from
an object to form an image, which are called refracting and reflecting optical surfaces respec-
tively.
According to the law of reflection the angle of incidence θ is equal to the angle of reflection
θ00 , which are the angles that the incident and reflected rays makes with the surface normal at
the point of incidence respectively (Figure 2.3).
θ = θ00 (2.1)
The basic relationship for the refraction of light can be expressed by the Snells law, which
describes the path of light at an interface between two media of refractive indices n and n0
with the formula
nsinθ = n0 sinθ0 (2.2)
where θ and θ0 are the angles of incidence and refraction respectively (Figure 2.3).
Power series expansion or Taylor expansion of sinθ around θ = 0 is
θ3 θ5 θ7 θ9
sinθ = θ − + − + − .... (2.3)
3! 5! 7! 9!
A ray that travels infinitesimally close to the optical axis of the system and makes a small angle
to the axis is called as paraxial ray. According to the Gaussian or paraxial approximation, for
ray that makes small angle with the optical axis or surface normal we are allowed to replace
its sine or tangent by the angle itself, which simplifies the Snell’s law as;
nθ = n0 θ0 (2.4)
By the equation above we can treat refraction as a linear transformation of angles [12].
7
Figure 2.3: Reflection and refraction at the boundary separating two medium with different
refractive indices.
Paraxial optics is often referred as the perfect optical system, but in real systems it is difficult
to apply paraxial approximation because of the large angles of incidence. As a result the
paraxial approximation becomes invalid and rays do not converge to a single image point, in
other words, because of the difference in angle between the paraxial and the real rays, image
is blurred. There becomes the effect of the higher-order terms in the series of sinθ, causing
departures from the perfect image, which are called geometrical aberrations.
Aberrations are classified according to the power of θ in the series expansion of sinθ; first-
order, third-order, fifth-order, etc. First order aberrations only affect the image’s position and
size. The third order (θ3 ) terms are called as Seidel or primary aberrations; these are spherical
aberration, coma, astigmatism, field curvature and distortion. Additionally for chromatic light
the imaging system could be wavelength dependent which results in chromatic aberration
[13].
The departure from paraxial image can be described by ray and wave aberrations. In the figure
below a spherical wavefront representing paraxial approximation and an aspherical wavefront
representing the actual solution of the optical system are shown. The deviation of actual
wavefront from the paraxial (ideal) wavefront is called the wave aberration and given by the
distance AB in the figure. Rays from points A and B do not cross the image plane at the same
point. The actual and the ideal rays cross the optical axis at the points L and I, and the paraxial
8
image plane at the points S and I respectively. The separations between the points L and I,
and S and I are called the ray aberrations.
The optical distance of a ray travels is called the optical path length (OPL), and calculated as
the distance ray travels multiplied by the refractive index of the medium. Wavefront error is
the departure of OPL of the actual wavefront from the ideal wavefront, and this difference is
called the optical path difference (OPD) and corresponds to the wave aberration AB of Figure
2.4.
Figure 2.4: Illustration of ray and wave aberrations [13]
The aberration of a point Q on the spherical surface can be expressed with an aberration
function a(Q), which depends on image height h0 from the optical axis and pupil coordinates
(r, θ) of the point Q.
a(Q) =0 C40 r4 +1 C31 h0 r3 cos θ +2 C22 h02 r2 cos2 θ +2 C20 h02 r2 +3 C11 h03 r cos θ (2.5)
The subscripts on the C coefficients in Eq (2.5) are the numbers that specify the powers of the
term h0 , r, and cosθ respectively [13].
r4 spherical aberration
h0 r3 cos θ coma
h02 r2 cos2 θ astigmatism
h02 r2 field curvature
h03 r cos θ distortion
9
2.2.1 Spherical Aberration
Spherical aberration occurs if the surface form of the optics and the form of the incident
wavefront does not properly match [3]. If the rays are very close to the optical axis i.e.
paraxial rays, then they will focus at a single image point. However, when the ray height at
the lens increases, the rays in the image space move farther from the paraxial focus, as a result
spherical aberration occurs. The height of the ray in the entrance pupil defines the magnitude
of the spherical aberration.
The separation of points where the paraxial ray and exact ray crosses the optical axis is called
the longitudinal spherical aberration (LSA), and the lateral distance of these points where
they crosses the focal plane is called the transverse spherical aberration (TSA) [14]. In Figure
2.5 LSA is the axial separation between point c and the focal point, and TSA is the lateral
separation between the points c and a.
LSA and TSA are related to the tangent of the marginal ray angle, tanu0 by:
tanu0 = T S A/LS A (2.6)
The spherical aberration represented by the first term of Eq (2.5), and it is the only aberration
that is independent of the image height h0 .
Figure 2.5: Representation of spherical aberration formed by a lens [14]
10
Spherical aberration can be reduced by proper choice of radii while the focal length remains
fixed, which causes a change in shape, or bending, of the lens. Each lens is labeled by a
number σ called Coddington shape factor, defined by [15]
R2 + R1
σ= (2.7)
R2 − R1
Aspherizing of optical elements, giving different curvatures to different zones of optics, can
completely eliminate the spherical aberration.
2.2.2 Coma
If the incident wavefront is tilted or decentered, then the form of the wavefront and the surface
would not match, and as a result coma occurs [3]. Thus it can be said that it is the result of
axial misalignment of optical surfaces and it affects off-axis image points.
In an optical system with coma, off-axis objects are imaged with a comet-like shape. This
results from the variation in magnification of different zones of the optical surface. Each zone
of the surface forms a ring with different size in the image plane and these rings are shifted
relative to each other. The rays passing through the edge of the surface form the largest
ring and those passing through the center form the smallest ring. Figure 2.6 illustrates the
formation of the coma.
Figure 2.6: Formation of coma [16]
11
In the Figure 2.6 (b) the distance from P to AB is the tangential coma and the distance from P
to CD is called the sagittal coma and is one-third as large as the tangential coma [16].
Coma is zero on the optical axis of an axially symmetric system. Coma can be eliminated by
choosing appropriate bending of the surface and proper position of any apertures which limit
the rays forming the image.
2.2.3 Astigmatism
Astigmatism occurs when two orthogonal fans, tangential and sagittal ray fans, about the chief
ray, are not focused at the same point and caused by the inclination of the incident wavefront
relative to the optical surface [3]. The images are separated by a small distance and appear as
lines orthogonal to each other. Between the tangential and sagittal image lines there is a point
where the image is approximately disk shaped and called circle of least confusion as shown
in Figure 2.7.
Figure 2.7: Illustration of formation of astigmatism for a simple lens [14]
12
Figure 2.8: Petzval surface and tangential and sagittal surfaces representation in case of astig-
matism [16]
The shape of the tangential and sagittal image surfaces is indicated for a simple lens in Figure
2.8. The curvatures of these surfaces can be changed considerably by the proper lens shapes
and their spacing, and the astigmatism can be eliminated this way. In this case the tangential
and sagittal surfaces coincide with each other and lie on the Petzval surface [16].
Astigmatism is zero on the axis but as the object moves further from the axis the amount
of astigmatism increases. Astigmatism is represented by the third term of Eq (2.5), and it
increases approximately as the square of the image height h0 .
2.2.4 Field Curvature
Even though astigmatism is corrected for a system, the images fall on the curved focal surface,
called Petzval surface, symmetrical around the optical axis. As a result the center of the image
will be in sharp focus but the edges will be blurred. The Petzval surface does not depend on
the shape factors and spacing of the surfaces, it can just changed by altering the refractive
indices and the focal lengths of the surfaces. For a single lens field curvature can be corrected
by a stop which limits the rays from the object and changes the path of the chief ray.
The contribution of a lens element to the Petzval curvature is inversely proportional to the
product of the refractive index of the lens and its focal length [17]. To eliminate field curvature
of an optical system, positively and negatively powered components can be combined, so that
the resulting power is reduced.
13
2.2.5 Distortion
Distortion is the last of the five Seidel aberrations and it is the only aberration that does not
result in image blur [17]. Distortion results from the variation of the lateral magnification for
objects at different distances from the optical axis.
If magnification increases with the increasing distance from the axis, a pincushion shaped
image occurs; this type is called pincushion (positive) distortion. On the other hand, if mag-
nification decreases with the increasing distance from the axis, a barrel shaped image occurs;
this type is called barrel (negative) distortion. Figure 2.9 shows distorted images of a rectilin-
ear object.
Figure 2.9: Distorted images of rectilinear object [17]
Distortion is represented by the last term of Eq (2.5) and it usually increases as the cube of
the image height h0 . Distortion can be eliminated by proper stop position.
2.2.6 Chromatic Aberration
The index of refraction varies as a function of the wavelength of light, as a result images
formed by different colors of light are not coincident [13]. In general, short wavelengths are
more strongly refracted since the refractive indices of materials are higher for short wave-
lengths than for long wavelengths [16]. This results the blue light to focus closer to the lens
then the red light and causes a longitudinal variation of focus which is called the longitudinal
chromatic aberration as shown in Figure 2.10.
14
Figure 2.10: Chromatic aberration of a single lens [15]
If an off-axis point object’s image is formed at different height for different wavelengths then
the lens is said to have lateral chromatic aberration. In the presence of chromatic aberration,
the image of an axial point is a central bright dot surrounded by a halo which are formed
by the rays in focus and the rays out-of-focus respectively [16]. The most common method
that corrects the chromatic aberration is the use of two thin lenses in contact, one is a low
dispersion positive lens made of crown glass and the other is a negative lens made of flint
glass having high dispersion.
2.3 Advantages of Cassegrain Designs
• In all the reflecting telescope designs the chromatic aberration is eliminated since the
mirrors have no chromatic aberrations of any kind.
• Since they are two-mirror systems they benefit from minimal reflection.
• Cassegrain telescope designs allow a long focus and high magnification in a relatively
short tube and they have external focal planes.
• In the Cassegrain type telescopes the use of non-spherical optical elements eliminates
the spherical aberration and distortion is negligible in these designs.
• To eliminate the field curvature it is possible to use field-flattening lenses.
• A Ritchey-Chrétien telescope has hyperbolic primary and secondary mirrors, which is

the one that we used through this study, results a better off-axis optical performance
and reduce coma significantly.
15
Different Cassegrain designs and their corresponding limiting aberrations are summarized in
Table 2.1.
Table 2.1: Cassegrain designs and their limiting aberrations.
The image quality of an optical system is not only affected by its aberrations which are in-
herent from the design, but also by the fabrication errors of each element, and the alignment
errors of the system. Therefore; in the next chapter, testing methods for surface errors i.e.
surface accuracy measurement methods are discussed.
16
CHAPTER 3
SURFACE QUALITY MEASUREMENT METHODS
3.1 Foucault-Knife Test
Foucault-knife test is one of the simplest tests to test the optical surface for the presence of
aberrations. In this test, a point light source placed at the center of curvature of a mirror
(optics under test) and a thin, opaque and sharp edged plate, known as Foucault knife, which
cuts the illuminating beam that forms the image, is used. When the knife edge is introduced,
an observer sees a shadow pattern consisting of dark and bright areas as shown in Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1: Schematic diagram of Foucault-knife test [18]
17
This test is mostly used to find the radius of curvatures of paraboloidal concave mirrors. If the
tested mirror is a perfect spherical mirror, and when the Foucault-knife is introduced precisely
at the focus, the mirror darkens suddenly. If the Foucault-knife is introduced inside or outside
the focus, the shadow pattern consists of sharply separated dark and bright regions. When
the knife edge is introduced inside the focus and moved in the direction perpendicular to the
optical axis, the dark region of the shadow pattern moves in the same direction of the knife
edge, on the contrary if the knife edge is introduced outside the focus the shadow pattern
moves across the mirror in a direction opposite to that in which the knife moves [18].
If the mirror under test is not spherical, then the radius of curvature of each zone on the mirror
differs. In such a case, for different positions of the Foucault knife, many different zones all
over the mirror are darkened (Figure 3.2).
However, since the test is observed with eye and the patterns changes suddenly, it is difficult
to catch the transitions of the patterns. Also it is difficult to say which aberrations exist on
the system since every system with different elements, with different surface profiles will give
different shadow patterns. For this reason quantitative analysis of the surface profiles must be
made before and after the test.
Figure 3.2: Shadow pattern of an aspherical optics [18]
18
3.2 Ronchi Test
Ronchi test is simple to accomplish and easy to interpret. In this test, a thin plate known as
Ronchi grating, consisting of equally spaced successive opaque and transparent straight strips,
is used. By Ronchi test, an optical system with the grating at the focus, or a mirror with the
grating at the center of curvature, can be tested.
In the Ronchi test, grating is illuminated by a narrow-slit light source placed parallel to the
grating lines. The Ronchi test configuration is shown in Figure 3.3. As in the Foucault-knife
test, in this test the shadows are appeared on the test surface also. On the other hand, in the
Ronchi test the shadow is a magnified image of the grating, and the shape and positions of
these shadows are used to get information about the shape of the mirror under test.
There are many possible mirrors of differing surface profiles and parameters that can give the
same band shape [19]. For this reason, the band shape appearance of a theoretical perfect
mirror must be formed by using simulation programs, and displayed on the screen of a com-
puter, before conducting the test. So that, one can examines the shape of the tested surface by
comparing the theoretical and actual Ronchigrams. Sample Ronchigrams are shown in Figure
3.4.
Figure 3.3: Ronchi test configuration [18]
19
Figure 3.4: Ronchigrams for different aberrations (a) defocus, (b) spherical aberration, (c)
coma, (d) spherical aberration with astigmatism [18]
For the finished telescope systems, the eyepiece of the telescope can be replaced by the Ronchi
grating. When looking a bright star, observer would see black and white bands. With a
perfectly aligned telescope observer sees perfectly straight bands parallel to each other. The
irregularities seen on the image of the Ronchi grating can be result either from the accuracy
of each surface or from the misalignment of the telescope.
3.3 Null Tests
Testing surfaces with null tests usually requires a specific optical component in order to create
a wavefront that matches the desired surface under test [20]. The required optical components
20
could be lenses, mirrors or holograms depending on the surface under test. The null tests can
be combined with the interferometer and also the null optics can be characterized interfero-
metrically. There are various types of null tests that differ in the optical arrangements and
optical components that are used.
• Dall Null Test Dall Null test uses a single lens placed between light source and the
mirror under test and usually done in combination with Foucault test [3]. In this test,
the lens and the light source are placed in a way that the refracted rays focus on the
mirrors center of curvature, where a Foucault-knife can be used to observe the shadows
on the mirror. Proper choice of compensating lens and the mirror-lens separation results
in a spherical aberration with opposite sign to that inherent in the surface under test.
Figure 3.5: Dall Null test configuration [18]
Since the rays collected on the focus should not pass through the lens again, this test
may require tilting the mirror; which inevitably induces astigmatism.
• Ross Null Test In the Ross Null test a large plano-convex lens is used between the light
source and the mirror under test. Unlike the Dall Null test, this is an on-axis test and
eliminates the problem of induced astigmatism permitting the use of quite large lens.
However, in this test the light rays travel the lens twice, the source and return beams
both pass through the Ross null lens which doubles its effect on the wavefront [21].
Therefore, the Ross lens must be of high quality and this requirement becomes a poten-
tial limitation when a large mirror is tested, and the test becomes less sensitive to the
positional errors as the lens becomes larger.
21
Figure 3.6: Ross Null test configuration [18]
• Waineo Null Test This test is used for nulling the paraboloid surfaces and uses another
reflecting surface generally a centrally perforated concave spherical or flat mirror.
Figure 3.7: Waineo test setup [3]
In the test, the concave sphere and the test surface must be centered on a common axis,
and the light source must be placed inside the focus of the concave sphere. To have the
tested surface null, the aberration contribution of the sphere has to be at the level of it
and opposite sign. There are a number of interrelated factors affecting the aberration
level, so the sensitivity of the test to setup errors is reasonably high.
22
3.4 Hindle Sphere Test
Testing of two mirror systems is more complicated. For the two-mirror Cassegrain system
it is convenient to use a pre-tested primary mirror with known aberrations to test the convex
secondary mirror in collimated light. Alternatively, a centrally perforated spherical mirror,
which is called Hindle sphere, can be used at the near focus of the tested convex mirror.
The Hindle Sphere’s diameter must be larger than the effective secondary mirror diameter.
If the convex surface is accurately made and also if the axis of the primary and secondary
coincides, then there will be no aberrations induced from the alignment when the light source
placed at the far focus of the convex secondary mirror. As a result, this test is limited to sur-
faces with usable far focus, i.e. it cannot be used to test convex surfaces which are spherical,
prolate ellipsoid, paraboloid and hyperboloid close to paraboloid.
This test is sensitive to the errors in the mirror separation, and produces spherical aberration
resulting from the second reflection off from the secondary mirror. So, the test accuracy
depends on the proper placement of two surfaces. Different Hindle sphere test setups to test
convex hyperboloidal and concave ellipsoidal mirrors are shown in Figure 3.8.
Figure 3.8: Hindle sphere test configurations for different optics [18]
23
3.5 Holography
Optical holography is an imaging technique that records both the amplitude and phase of the
light reflected from the object to create a three-dimensional image of the object having an
arbitrary shape. Holography convert the phase information into the variations of intensity by
introducing a reference beam derived from the same source [22]. Holography records the
wavefronts using the interference and diffraction patterns, and then reconstructs these wave-
fronts from the recorded material. The recorded plate is then called as computer generated
hologram (CGH).
CGHs are generally used in interferometric optical testing, instead of a null lens, to measure
the surfaces with very large deviations from a sphere. When the CGH is placed as shown in
the Figure 3.9, the CGH and the interference fringes produce a moiré pattern that gives the
difference between the CGH and the interference fringes [23].
Figure 3.9: Setup for CGH as a null lens
The advantage of holographic test than the null tests is that it is easier to design and fabricate
a holographic plate to test an aspheric part [20].
The disadvantage is that the air circulations, expansion of the materials and also the sound
can prevent the image to be recorded properly. Also, since every surface in a system has
different profile, the hologram must be produced for each surface separately. Furthermore,
the holographic test plates are very expensive.
24
For the alignment process of the system, a Hindle-Sphere test setup for Ritchey Chrétien
type telescope as shown in Figure 3.8 (d) is decided to be used. And since interferometric
measurement is a good way for seeing the errors caused both from the misalignment and
surface errors, for fine alignment an interferometer is planned to be used at the testing point
of the setup. Therefore, the general information about the interference theory is given in the
next chapter.
25
CHAPTER 4
THEORY OF INTERFERENCE
Light is an electromagnetic radiation and may be defined as a transverse electromagnetic wave

propagating through the space. The electric field at any point due to light wave propagating
along the direction perpendicular to the electric and magnetic fields, can be described by the
equation
E(x, y, z, t) = a cos[wt − kz] (4.1)
where a is the amplitude of the light wave, w is its circular frequency, k is its wavenumber
(number of wavelengths per 2π units of distance), t is time, and z is the direction of propaga-
tion.
The circular frequency of the wave is given by the relation
w = 2πν (4.2)
and the wavenumber is

2π
k= (4.3)
λ
so the Eq (4.1) can be written in a non-compact form
z
E(x, y, z, t) = a cos[2π νt − ] (4.4)
λ
where the term within the square brackets is called phase of the wave.
In a medium of refractive index n, the light propagates with a speed υ, defined by,
c
υ= (4.5)
n
and the wavelength would be,

λ
λn = (4.6)
n
26
Using Eq (4.5) and Eq (4.6), Eq (4.4) can also be written as
z
E = Re{a exp[i2πν t − ]} (4.7)
υ
where the real part of the expression within the square brackets represented by Re.
Right hand side of the Eq (4.7) can be expressed as the product of spatially varying and
temporarily varying factors [24], so that
E = Re{a exp(−i2πνz/υ) exp(i2πνt)} (4.8)
= Re{a exp(−iφ) exp(i2πνt)}
where, the phase difference is,
φ = 2πνz/υ (4.9)
= 2πnz/λ
If we take the real part of the Eq (4.8) we can rewrite it as
E = Aexp(i2πνt) (4.10)
where
A = a exp(−iφ) (4.11)
is known as the complex amplitude.
The phenomenon of interference depends on the superposition of two or more individual

waves. The electric field at a general point P, where two waves propagating in same direction
and polarized in the same plane is [24],
E = E1 + E2 (4.12)
If these two waves have the same frequency, the complex amplitude at the point P is then the
sum of the complex amplitudes of the two waves [25]
A = A1 + A2 (4.13)
where A1 = a1 exp(−iφ1 ) and A2 = a2 exp(−iφ2 ),
27
and the intensity at this point is,
I = |A|2 (4.14)
= (A1 + A2 )(A∗1 + A∗2 ) (4.15)
= |A1 |2 + |A2 |2 + A1 A∗2 + A∗1 A2
I = I1 + I2 + 2(I1 I2 )1/2 cos ∆φ (4.16)
where I1 and I2 are the intensities at the point due to the two waves acting separately, and
∆φ = φ1 − φ2 is the phase difference of these waves [24].
If the two waves formed by the same source, then the phase difference ∆φ corresponds to an
optical path difference
λ
∆p = ∆φ (4.17)
2π
And the order of interference is
∆p ∆φ
N= = (4.18)
λ 2π
The intensity has its maximum value
Imax = I1 + I2 + 2(I1 I2 )1/2 (4.19)
when
N = m, ∆φ = 2mπ (4.20)
And its minimum value

Imin = I1 + I2 − 2(I1 I2 )1/2 (4.21)
when
N = (2m + 1)/2, ∆φ = (2m + 1)π (4.22)
where m is an integer.
The visibility of the interference fringes, which is a measure of the contrast of the interference,
is defined by the relation
Imax − Imin
V= (4.23)
Imax + Imin
where 0 ≤ V ≤ 1.
28
Wavefront division and amplitude division are two ways to obtain two beams from a single
source. In the wavefront division method two portions from the original wavefront are used.
Apertures like screens with pinholes or mirrors can be used to divide the original wavefront
into two beams which are then superimposed to produce interference.
One example of the wavefront division method is the Young’s double slit experiment in which
the diffracted beams from two pinholes form interference figures, seen on a screen placed
in the region of overlap of the beams [25]. Another example is the arrangement known as
Fresnel’s mirrors (shown in Figure 4.1), in which the interference takes place between the
light from two virtual sources S 1 and S 2 [24].
Figure 4.1: Diagram of Fresnel’s mirrors [26]
In the amplitude division method two beams are obtained from a single source by division
of amplitude over the same section of the original wavefront [25]. Beam splitters, diffraction
gratings and polarizing prisms are the most widely used devices to obtain amplitude division.
Simple examples using reflection in a plane parallel plate illuminated by a monochromatic

point source to demonstrate amplitude division are shown in Figures 4.2 and 4.3. In the case
of amplitude division on a transparent plane-parallel plate with a point source, interference
takes place between the waves reflected from the upper and lower surfaces of the plate. And,
the fringes can be seen in the region the reflected rays overlap.
29
Figure 4.2: Amplitude division on a plane parallel plate with a point source [24]
Figure 4.3: Amplitude division on a plane parallel plate, fringes localized at infinity [24]
30
As can be seen from the Figure 4.3, a ray incident at an angle θ1 on a plane parallel plate gives
rise to two parallel rays, and the optical path difference between these two rays is
λ
∆p = 2nd cos θ2 + (4.24)
2
where θ2 is the angle of refraction, d is the thickness and n is the refractive index of plane
parallel plate. Interference fringes formed are circles centered on the normal to the plate as
shown in Figure 4.4. These types of fringes are called fringes of equal inclination and also
known as Newtons rings.
Figure 4.4: Newton’s rings [25]
However if the plate has small variations of thickness as shown in Figure 4.5 and illuminated
with a collimated beam, then the fringes formed are not circles anymore. The fringes are
shown in Figure 4.6 correspond to contours of equal thickness and known as Fizeau fringes.
Figure 4.5: Interference formed by a plane parallel plate having small variations of thickness
[24]
31
Figure 4.6: Fringes of equal thickness [25]
Most widely, for precise measurements of optical surfaces interferometers are used. Interfer-
ometers use the interference phenomenon of light, and are designed based on the principle
of interfering two or more beams, that travel along same or separate paths, to form an in-
terference pattern. Most of the interferometers used in optical testing today are two-wave
interferometers which produce an interferogram by superimposing two wavefronts, separated
by amplitude from a single light source, one of which is a reference wavefront and the other
is the wavefront of the surface being tested.
In the Newton interferometer configuration, the two surfaces (reference and test surfaces)
are in contact and illuminated by a monochromatic light source. The air gap between the
two surfaces is in the order of few wavelengths of the light. The illustration of the Newton
interferometer is shown in the Figure 4.7.
Figure 4.7: Illustration of Newton interferometer [18]
32
Figure 4.8: Two perfect optical flats with a thin air gap [18]
If two perfect optical flats are placed one over the other with an angle α between them, and the
air gap at a given point is x, then two reflected rays will have an optical path difference equal
to 2x, and one of these reflected rays will have a phase change of 180◦ . Therefore, a dark
fringe will be formed when the optical path difference is an integer multiple of wavelength
[18].
λ
2αx = nλ 2αx + = nλ (4.25)
2
The equations above represent the dark and bright fringes respectively, giving equally spaced
straight fringes.
There are several types of two beam interferometers that are divided according to the optical
path the light travels, the air gap between the reference and test surfaces, the light source that
they use and the beam dividing elements if exists. However, since the principle behind the all
two-beam interferometers is the same, and if the used reference and test surfaces are the same,
then the interference pattern obtained from different interferometers will be similar, too. For
this reason, it will be sufficient to give the interference patterns for different configurations of
different surfaces obtained with a Newton interferometer to understand the others.
33
The appearance of Newton fringes are given in the Figure 4.9 with a flat reference surface.
Figure 4.9: Newton fringes for different surfaces with a flat reference [18]
As it can be seen from the figure above, when the reference and test surface are both flat
and if they are perfectly parallel to each other than there won’t be an interference pattern.
However, if one of the flat surfaces is tilted with respect to the other then the inference pattern
will have equally spaced straight fringes as explained by the Figure 4.8. When a spherical
surface is tested with a reference flat, the fringes are concentric rings around the point of
contact with the flat. Therefore, when the spherical surface tilted the contact point changes,
as a result the interference pattern changes. Astigmatic errors produce the oval wavefront with
more fringes vertically than horizontally as seen from the figure. For highly irregular surfaces
interference pattern does not have any defined shape, since the surface can have different
aberrations resulting from different shapes of the zones over the surface. The given shapes
can be used to analyze the obtained interference pattern in the alignment work.
34
CHAPTER 5
SYSTEM DESIGN
5.1 Theory of Cassegrain Type Telescope Designs
As it is mentioned in the Table 2.1 in the Cassegrain designs, both the primary and the sec-
ondary mirrors are not spherical, except the Dall-Kirkham’s secondary mirror. Therefore, it
is fundamental to define the aspherical optical elements, which are also known as conics in
the literature. The deviation of an asphere from a asphere is shown in Figure 5.1.
Figure 5.1: Spherical and aspheric surfaces [17]
Eccentricity, ε, is the numerical expression of deviation of a conic surface from the circular
form, but more commonly an optical surface’s shape is defined by its conic constant, κ = −ε2 .
35
In the Table 5.1, it is shown how the conic surfaces named according to their conic constants.
Table 5.1: Conic constants, κ, and related conic surfaces.
κ = −1 paraboloid
κ < −1 hyperboloid
−1 < κ < −1 prolate ellipsoid
κ=0 spherical
κ>0 oblate ellipsoid
The conic vertex equation, defining the conic mirror with surface revolution, is [27],
ρ2 − 2Rz + (1 + κ)z2 = 0 (5.1)
where R is the radius of curvature at the vertex, κ is the conic constant of the surface, ρ is the
radial coordinate (ρ2 = x2 + y2 ), and z is the surface sag.
When z is extracted from Eq (5.1) we get the sag equation for a conic.
2
ρ
R
z= q 2 (5.2)
1+ 1 − (1 + κ) Rρ
When we expand the Eq (5.2) in a power series, we get,
ρ2 (1 + κ)r4
z= + + .... (5.3)
2R 8R3
In the case of κ = 0 the equation represents the sag of a sphere, and if we subtract the case of
κ = 0, we obtain the departure of the conic from its vertex sphere.
All Cassegrain designs consist of a centrally perforated primary and a small convex secondary
mirror inside the focus of the primary mirror. The general layout of a Cassegrain telescope is
shown in Figure 5.2.
36
Figure 5.2: Cassegrain telescope layout [28]
Where;
f or efl Effective focal length of system
f1 Focal length of primary mirror
f2 Focal length of secondary mirror (negative in Cassegrains)
d Distance between primary and secondary
b Distance between primary and focal point
bfl or (d + b) Back focal length
s2 and s02 Object and image distance of intermediate object (located at focal point of primary)
D1 and D2 Diameter of primary and secondary mirror
R1 and R2 Radius of curvature of primary and secondary mirror
C1 and C2 Curvature of primary and secondary mirror
M Magnification
The secondary mirror multiplies the focal length of primary mirror by a factor M, which is
the secondary magnification.
focal length of system

M= (5.4)
focal length of primary
37
The major parameters of a Cassegrain telescope can be found by [28],
f1 f2
f = M f1 = (5.5)
f1 + f2 − d
( f1 − d) f2
b f l = (d + b) = (5.6)
f1 + f2 − d
and the focal lengths of the primary and secondary are;

d+b −(d + b)
f1 = d + f2 = (5.7)
M M−1
Mirror curvatures are [16];

s02 − f s02 + d − f
C1 = C2 = (5.8)
2d f 2ds02
and the corresponding radius of curvatures are;

1 1
R1 = R2 = (5.9)
C1 C2
If an existing primary mirror is desired to use in a Cassegrain system, the parameters for a
secondary mirror can be found by the equations below.
M f1 − b
d= (5.10)
M+1
M
f2 = − ( f1 + b) (5.11)
M2 − 1
and the smallest diameter for the secondary mirror, D2 , is [28]:
d+b
D2 = D1 (5.12)
f
The third order aberration sums for the Ritchey-Chrétien type telescopes, with the object at
infinity and the stop placed at the primary mirror, are given by [16]:
X y3 [ f (d + b − f )3 + 64d3 f 4 K1 + (d + b)( f − 2d − b)( f − b)2 − 64(d + b)4 d3 K2 ]

TSC =
8d3 f 3
(5.13)
38
X hy2 [2 f (d + b − f )2 + ( f − 2d − b)( f − b)(− f − b) − 64(d + b)3 d3 K2 ]
CC = (5.14)
8d2 f 3
X h2 y[4(d + b) f (d + b − f ) + ( f − 2d − b)(− f − b)2 − 64(d + b)3 d3 K2 ]

T AC = (5.15)
8(d + b)d f 3
X h2 y[d f − (d + b − f )2 ]
T PC = (5.16)
8(d + b)d f 2
where,
y : the semiaperture of the system

h : the image height
P
TSC : transverse third-order spherical aberration sum
P
CC : third-order sagittal coma sum
P
T AC : transverse third-order astigmatism sum
P
T PC : transverse Petzval curvature sum
The K1 and K2 are the fourth-order deformation coefficients and defined as the conic constant
(κ) of the surface divided by 8 times the cube of the surface radius. For a Ritchey-Chrétien
these coefficients are given as;
[2(d + b)d2 − (d + b − f )3 ]
K1 = (5.17)
64d3 f 3
[2 f (d + b − f )2 + ( f − 2d − b)( f − b)(− f − b)]

K2 = (5.18)
64(d + b)3 d3
to get both third-order spherical aberration and coma corrected.

X X X h2 y(d − 2 f )
T S C = 0.0 CC = 0.0 T AC = (5.19)
4(d + b) f 2
5.2 Design Parameters of the Telescope
A Richey-Chrétien type telescope which will be aligned, had been designed according to the
given parameters in the previous section, and also the equations defining the aberrations of
Ritchey-Chrétien designs had been considered.
39
Table 5.2: Prescription data of Ritchey-Chrétien design.
Effective Focal Length f 1382.245 mm
F-number f /# 4.66
Back Focal Length (d + b) 482.982 mm
Entrance Pupil Diameter 2y 300 mm
Primary and Secondary Mirror Separation d 307.000 mm
Primary Mirror and Focal Point Separation b 175.982 mm
Primary Mirror Diameter D1 300.00 mm
Secondary Mirror Diameter D2 115.50 mm
Primary Mirror Radius of Curvature R1 -943.771 mm
Secondary Mirror Radius of Curvature R2 -500.708 mm
Conics of Primary κ1 -1.1252
Conics of Secondary κ2 -5.4023
Magnification M 2.9292
Figure 5.3: Overview of the designed telescope.
40
Since the conics of the mirrors are constant in the design, and the mirrors are produced ac-
cording to these constants if the mirror separation, or tip/tilt and decentering of one of the
mirror is not as it should be, aberrations come out. In other words, the terms of coma and
spherical aberration given in the equation 5.19 would not be zero anymore. Also it can be
seen from the equation 5.16 that the Petzval curvature is not related to the conics of the mir-
rors and therefore it is not zero on the Ritchey-Chrétien designs, which means that a flat object
cannot be brought into focus on a flat image plane. Therefore, in order to have the focal plane
correction, lenses had been added to the telescope design. Since lenses produce chromatic
aberration, in order to eliminate this aberration, an achromatic lens group had been used.
With this correction the effective focal length of the design becomes to be 1400.014 mm.
Figure 5.4: Focal plane corrected telescope overview.
Table 5.3: Data of corrector elements.
Surface Radius of Curvature (mm) Thickness (mm) Semi-Diameter (mm)
1 137.543 11.79 25.50
2 149.544 25.50
3 -183.427 6.50 25.50
4 -190.285 25.50
5 -99.118 8.44 21.50
6 608.374 21.50
41
CHAPTER 6
ALIGNING THE TELESCOPE
6.1 Lens Centering
6.1.1 Lens Measurements
The corrector lenses are manufactured in Turkey, in order to have an idea about their qualities
and their surface profiles they were measured with an interferometer. The data taken from the
software for first, second, and the third lenses are given in the Figure 6.1.
As can be seen from the figures the value of Peak-to-Valley (PV) error of the surfaces, which
is defined as the difference between the highest and lowest points on the surface, are within
the range of 4-6 nm. The Root Mean Square (RMS) error, which is defined as the standard
deviation of the surface from the ideal form, is within the range of 0.5-0.8 nm. These values
corresponds to approximately λ/10 wavefront error in average, and surfaces with such errors
are accepted as good surfaces generally by the optical surface manufacturers. Therefore, the
surface roughnesses of the lenses are determined to be appropriate as a result of interfero-
metric measurements. Although, the errors of the surfaces are not zero, the qualities of the
produced lenses are fairly high. For this reason, in the interferometric alignment process, a
problem related to these surfaces is not expected to occur.
42
Figure 6.1: Interferometric measurements of the lenses; (top two) two surfaces of the lens 1,
(middle two) two surfaces of the lens 2, (bottom two) two surfaces of the lens 3.
43
6.1.2 Centering Process
Since the produced lenses are of high quality, for the alignment process of the lenses, col-
lection of them in the same center is sufficient and the process can be done as a centering
process. For this purpose, a spherical optics centering machine, LOH C-2SL, with a 0.001
mm accuracy [29] is used.
Figure 6.2: Spherical optics centering machine.
The centering machine consists of three parts, one is the control screen where the data about
centering is displayed, and the other is the centering chamber where the lenses are placed and
centered and lastly a sensor part with a sensor sensitive to the laser beam.
44
Figure 6.3: Parts of centering machine (a) Control screen where the data about centering is
displayed, (b) Centering chamber where the lenses are placed and centered, (c) Sensor part
which is sensitive to the laser beam.
The machine has a pedal which makes the spinning platform to work, and also when pushed
the laser beam begins to fall onto the lens surface. Since the rays falling on the lens at different
points from the center, refract at different angles, then the ray passing through the lens will
fall at different points on the sensor, as the platform rotates. The control screen shows the data
(offset from the center) coming from this sensor as average and actual in terms of seconds.
At the beginning, the first lens (the second lens of the system) was placed into the lens holder,
and the lens holder was placed to the centering chamber. Three micro positioners which had
been manufactured to fasten the lens into the lens holder, was also used for lens centering
process. The first lens (the second lens of the system) was centered by using these positioners
with small steps up to when we saw the minimum value on the control screen.
After the centering process of the first lens (the second lens of the system) finished, the second
lens (the first lens of the system) was centered in the same way. These two lenses were fixed
to the lens holder by adhesive and waited for one day for the adhesive to dry, so that when
handled lenses could not move in the lens holder. Then, the last lens (third lens in the system)
was also centered as the other two lenses. The reason of not centering the last lens at the same
time with the other lenses is that, there might be slip and deviations occur during the splicing
process, which can be tolerated by the centering of this last lens.
45
Figure 6.4: A picture of the lens holder and the micro positioners when the centering process
of the two lenses is finished.
Figure 6.5: A picture of the centering chamber and lens holder when the last lens was center-
ing.
Later, the last lens was also centered up to when the minimum value for the deviation from
the center, has been achieved. The values given in Table 6.1 are the actual and average values
in terms of seconds. The actual value can be defined as the instantaneous measurement value,
and the average is the average of the several measurements.
46
Table 6.1: The centering data of corrector elements after the centering process has finished.
Actual value 1.000

Average value 1.200
Finally, the last lens was fixed by the adhesive and left to dry. When the curing time has
expired the micro positioners were removed from the lenses and the lens group became ready
for the alignment of the other components.
6.2 System Alignment
As it was stated before, for the alignment of a Ritchey-Chrétien type telescope, the Hindle-
Sphere test setup for Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, with an interferometer at the testing point
is used. Zygo Verifire XPZ interferometer was used for this purpose. The specifications of
the interferometer are given in the Appendix B. The schematic diagram of the applied test
configuration and the path that the light follows is given in the Figure 6.6.
Figure 6.6: Schematic diagram of the test configuration. The outgoing beam from the inter-
ferometer focus on the focal point of the telescope system, after passing through the system it
reflects off from the flat mirror and returns through the same path it travels.
47
For the precise movements of the equipments, three axial stages and one rotational stage have
been used. Two of the axial stages were placed under the interferometer to move it along
the optical axis (z-axis) and in the vertical axis (x-axis), the other stage was placed under the
tested telescope system to move it in the horizontal axis (y-axis) perpendicular to the optical
axis, and the rotation stage was used under the flat mirror to rotate it perpendicular to the
optical axis.
6.2.1 Flat Mirror Alignment
As seen in the Figure 6.6 for the light to turn on itself again (to have an interference pattern) the
flat mirror must be perpendicular to the optical axis of the interferometer and the system. So,
the first step of the alignment process is the alignment of interferometer and the flat mirror. For
this process, an objective, known as transmission flat (letting to a collimated beam of 10 cm
in diameter), was used as the objective of the interferometer. After, the interferometer and flat
mirror were located such that the system can be placed between them, and the beam coming
from the interferometer was provided visually to illuminate the center of the flat mirror. This
has been done by rotating the flat mirror by using the rotation stage under it. For the proper
alignment of these two, a program named “align” on the interferometer software was used.
This program shows the beam exiting from the interferometer and the beam returning to the
interferometer after reflected from the test surface. The picture of this program is shown in
the Figure 6.7.
Figure 6.7: The picture of the program showing the beams. The beam at the left upper
side is the beam reflecting from the flat mirror, and the other is the beam exiting from the
interferometer (reference beam).
48
When these two beam points do not overlap, it can be said that the test surface and the inter-
ferometer are not parallel to each other and the need for tilting the test surface arises. In order
to tilt the flat mirror, three precision screws were placed at the back side of it. By giving small
movements to the screws the flat mirror was aligned perpendicular to the interferometer axis.
The screws at the backside of the flat mirror and the fringe pattern taken from the software
are shown in the Figure 6.8 and Figure 6.9 respectively.
Figure 6.8: Precision screws at the backside of the flat mirror, used to tilt the mirror with
respect to the optical axis.
Figure 6.9: Interference pattern of the flat mirror.
49
As shown in the Figure 4.9 if two optical flats are placed one over the other the fringe pattern
seen is a null, however if one of them is tilted with respect to the other, then the interference
pattern formed is straight lines. As a result, if the interferometer and the flat are perfectly
aligned there will be no fringe. Therefore, the alignment of interferometer and the flat mirror
has been done up to when we saw the minimum fringe on the interference pattern, and this
process was finished.
6.2.2 Secondary Mirror Alignment
6.2.2.1 Rough Alignment
For the telescope alignment process, the micro positioners of the secondary mirror, which
provide the movement of secondary mirror in the x-y plane and the z-axis, were connected.
The integration of the primary and secondary mirrors to the baseplates was done and the
interconnections of these baseplates were finished. Then, the system except with the lenses
has been placed on the top of the y-stage, between the previously aligned interferometer
and the flat mirror. The collimated beam coming from the interferometer was observed at
the place where the lens holder would be mounted. In order to place the telescope at the
axis of the interferometer and the flat mirror, the telescope was moved in the y-axis and the
interferometer was moved in the x-axis. After, the beam coming from the interferometer has
been aligned visually as it was seen symmetrically at the mount of lens holder as seen in the
Figure 6.10.
Later, the lenses which had been centered before were mounted, and a screen with a pinhole
was placed at the focal plane of the telescope. Since we need a focused beam, the objective
of the interferometer (transmission flat), was replaced with another objective, known as trans-
mission sphere, having a focal length of 151.74 mm. For the system alignment process the
focal planes of the interferometer and the telescope must coincide.
Since at the focal plane of the interferometer with transmission sphere, the beam must be
focused, we must see the smallest spot we can see. Therefore, by moving the interferometer
at the z axis with small steps, the minimum spot of the beam coming from the interferometer
at the screen (on the focal plane of the telescope) was achieved. So, the focal planes of the
interferometer and the telescope were made coincident.
50
Figure 6.10: Beam on the mount of the lens holder, which is the symmetrical red light as
shown.
Next, for illumination of the telescope, the focused beam was centered visually at the pinhole
by moving the interferometer in the x-axis, and the telescope at the y-axis (Figure 6.11).
Figure 6.11: Beam at the pinhole. The white area is the screen, and at the center there is a
pinhole, where the red light (beam) is passing through.
For the aligned telescope, the beam passing through the system, then reflecting off from the
flat mirror and returning to the focal plane must be at the focal point, which means that the
beam returns from the same path it goes. If the reflected beam is not at the focal point, this
means that the secondary mirror is either decentered or tilted with respect to the primary
mirror. Therefore, the incident wavefront will be inclined with respect to the surface of the
51
secondary mirror, and this inclination will produce unwanted coma and astigmatism in the
image. The reflected beam can be seen on the screen (Figure 6.12), and it can also seen on the
“align” program (Figure 6.13), so by looking its position the secondary mirror can be aligned
properly.
Figure 6.12: Reflected beam seen at the screen. The outer red rings are coming from the
camera (which is taking the photographs), the small ring which is at right upper side of the
pinhole is the beam returning through the telescope after reflecting off from the flat mirror.
Figure 6.13: Reflected beam seen on the “align” program. The bar patterns at the bottom of
the picture is the reflected beam and the beam at the upper side (at the middle of the cross
line) is the beam from the interferometer.
52
Therefore, by tilting and decentering the secondary mirror with the micro positioners, the
outgoing beam has been overlapped with the incoming beam.
Figure 6.14: Reflected beam after tilting the secondary mirror, it became nearly symmetrical
around the center of the cross.
Also if the spot size of the reflected beam is bigger than it should be, then we can say that
the reflected beam is not focused at the screen, which means that the primary and secondary
mirror’s separation is not as it should be. This produces distortion in the image. In order to
get rid of this problem, the secondary mirror was despaced slightly until the minimum spot
size was obtained.
53
Figure 6.15: Reflected beam after despacing the secondary mirror slightly, the size of it is
reduced as shown.
6.2.2.2 Fine Alignment
When the initial and reflected beams were visually overlapped, with the achievable smallest
spot size, we saw the interference pattern of the telescope system. At first, the pattern was not
symmetric around its center, which means that there was still tip/tilt or decentering problem
on the secondary mirror. This problem was solved by tilting and decentering the secondary
mirror by very tiny steps, and the resulting interference pattern is given in the Figure 6.16.
54
Figure 6.16: Final interference pattern of the telescope when the interferometric alignment
process is completed.
The mirrors had also been produced in Turkey, and the measurements were done in order to
have an idea about the profile and roughness of the surfaces. The figures given below show
the results of measurements. The secondary mirror was measured with an interferometric
aspheric surface measurement device of QED Tecnologies, and the primary was measured
with a profilometer device Talysurf PGI.
As can be seen from the Figure 6.17 and Figure 6.18, the surface profiles of the primary and
secondary mirrors are not very good at all, but these are the reachable best surfaces with the
existing technology. Therefore, in the interferometric alignment procedure it is expected to
see the effects of these surfaces on the interferogram of the overall system.
55
Figure 6.17: Interferometric measurement of the secondary mirror.
Figure 6.18: The difference of the surface profile of the produced primary mirror from the
designed surface.
As its seen on the Figure 6.16 the interferogram has radial bars, it was thought that these bars
arises from the surface profile of the secondary mirror seen on the Figure 6.17. Also, since
the beam passes through the telescope twice, the aberrations seen on the pattern are doubled.
56
6.3 Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) Measurements
6.3.1 Usability of MTF
The image quality of a system is generally explained by the modulation transfer function
(MTF) values. The decrease in the MTF value of a system can be caused by the misalignment
of the components or from the surface quality of each element. For this reason in order to have
an idea about the usability of the MTF measurements to prove the alignment some simulations
are done in the Optical Design Software ZEMAX. The simulated MTF value for the perfectly
aligned telescope for PAN (panchromatic) channel is given as graph in the Figure 6.19.
Figure 6.19: MTF graph of PAN channel (data for 0.4150 to 0.9000 microns).
Then the system is misaligned in three different ways on the software, and MTF curves of
the aligned and misaligned telescope are compared. It is concluded that if the alignment of
the telescope is not as it should be, then the MTF value decreases gradually. The misaligned
telescope simulations are represented in the Figure 6.20 to set an example.
57
Figure 6.20: MTF graphs of misaligned telescope (data for 0.4150 to 0.9000 microns); (top
panel) mirror separation error 0.01 mm, (middle panel) secondary mirror decentered 0.1 mm
on both x and y axes, (bottom panel) secondary mirror tilted 0.1 degrees on both x and y axes.
58
6.3.2 Measurements
If there is a decenter, despace or tip/tilt problem on the secondary mirror of the telescope, then
the MTF value decreases gradually, as it is described before. Therefore, in order to prove the
alignment of the telescope was completed, MTF measurements were done with the help of
a collimator. The collimator had been designed and produced according to the requirements
of the telescope system, such that the collimated beam has a diameter of 300 mm which
completely illuminates the primary mirror, therefore gives the MTF of the overall system (the
specifications of the collimator are given in the Appendix C).
A light source with a cross shaped target was used at the focal plane of the collimator, which
is then magnified and reflected to a primary mirror by a small secondary mirror inside the
collimator. The primary mirror collimates the beam and reflects it to the system in front of
the collimator. The schematic diagram of the collimator is shown in the Figure 6.21.
This collimated beam stands for a parallel beam, as if it’s coming from the infinity, for the
telescope. And the telescope focuses this beam at the focal point, where a CCD camera is
placed. This camera records the image of the target and a software program calculates the
MTF value of the system by taking the edge spread function of the image.
Figure 6.21: Schematic diagram of collimator.
59
Figure 6.22: Measurement configuration of the collimator and the telescope.
Figure 6.23: Image of the target and the point of measurement.
60
Figure 6.24: MTF graph of the image.
6.3.3 Discussion of MTF Results
All sensors have a limitation such that, the smallest resolvable object cannot be smaller than
the pixel size of the sensor. The measure of this size is referred to as spatial resolution, and it
is determined by the instantaneous field of view (IFOV) of the sensor. IFOV is a measure of
the ground area viewed by a single detector pixel, and calculated by;
!
−1 w
IFOV = 2tan (6.1)
2f
where w is the pixel width, f is the effective focal length. A simple representation of the
geometric projection of a single detector of a satellite onto the earths surface is given in the
Figure 6.25.
61
Figure 6.25: Geometric projection of a single detector onto the earth’s surface.
The camera used at the focal plane has pixel size of 6 µm. And, the telescope system has
an effective focal length of approximately 1.4 m; therefore, by calculation it can be found
that the system (telescope with the camera at the focal plane) has an IFOV of 4.286 × 10−3
miliradians.
The MTF value of the system can be calculated since all of the parameters are known. One
can resolve just one line at this IFOV since it is the spatial resolution limit. Therefore, the
limiting MTF value is;
!
1 line
MT F =
4.286 × 10−3 mrad
!
0.5 linepair
=
4.286 × 10−3 mrad
= 116 linepair/mrad
62
However, to evaluate such systems there is a limit called Nyquist Frequency. This limit is
defined as the half of the sampling frequency, in order to be able to fully reconstruct the signal
coming from the image. Therefore, for this telescope system the sampling frequency at the
Nyquist limit must be the half of the limiting MTF value. It can be seen from the Figure 6.24
that the measured modulation value at this Nyquist frequency (58 lp/mrad) is approximately
68%. This result quite good for such a system, and verifies the alignment of the telescope.
63
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
In this study, a practical alignment algorithm for Cassegrain type telescopes has been ex-
amined. Firstly, the meaning of alignment and the parameters that cause the misalignment
of a system were explained, and different misalignment cases of Cassegrain telescope have
been presented. In addition, the effects of misalignment to the image quality i.e. aberrations,
and the advantages of the Cassegrain designs in terms of aberrations were examined from an
optical standpoint.
Before the alignment, the surface accuracy measurement methods have been studied; advan-
tages, disadvantages and usability of these methods have been examined in order to present
a practical alignment method. At the end, an interferometric measurement method with an
Hindle sphere test configuration for Ritchey-Chrétien telescopes has been chosen. In order to
understand how the interferometers work, the theory of interference was studied, and also the
interferometric fringe representations for different surfaces have been presented.
After, important concepts relevant to the design of Cassegrain telescopes and the third-order
aberration sums of Ritchey-Chrétien type have been presented by the related equations. The
important optical parameters of the Ritchey-Chrétien telescope design, which is used for the
alignment work, has been overviewed. Since the surface quality of the optical elements in a
system is of high importance, the measurement results of the lenses, secondary mirror, and
the primary mirror have been presented also.
The modulation transfer function, which is a measure of image quality of optical systems,
was studied and to constitute an example of degradation in image quality, the MTF graphs of
aligned and misaligned telescope were simulated using the optical design program ZEMAX.
64
The interferometric alignment algorithm used in this study can be summarized in 10 main
steps:
1. Lenses are centered into the lens holder with the help of a spherical optics centering
machine up to when the decentering value at the control screen be minimum.
2. The flat mirror and the interferometer are aligned by examining the interference pattern.
Using the stages under the interferometer and the flat mirror the fringe number is reduced to
the minimum.
3. The telescope except with the lens holder is placed between the previously aligned inter-
ferometer and flat mirror, and the beam coming from the interferometer is aligned visually up
to when the beam is seen symmetrically at the mount of lens holder.
4. The lens holder with the centered lenses is mounted, and a screen with a pinhole is placed
at the focal plane of the telescope. The objective of the interferometer is changed with a
transmission sphere which has a focal point.
5. The focal planes of the interferometer and the telescope are made coincident by moving
the interferometer at the optical axis. The minimum spot of the beam (focused beam) coming
from the interferometer is achieved at the screen
6. The focused beam is centered visually at the pinhole using the stages under the interferom-
eter and the telescope.
7. The reflected beam is examined visually, and it is made coincident with the outgoing
beam at the pinhole by tilting and decentering the secondary mirror with the help of micro
positioners.
8. Spot size of the reflected beam is reduced by despacing the secondary mirror towards the
primary mirror.
9. After the initial and reflected beams are visually overlapped, the interference pattern is
formed. The shape of the interference pattern is made symmetrical by tilting and decentering
the secondary mirror with very tiny steps.
10. Finally, the MTF measurements are done to prove that the alignment is correctly done.
65
At the first step of the alignment process, three corrector lenses are centered using an optical
centering machine, LOH C-2SL. Lenses are aligned with an accuracy of approximately 1.2
seconds in average, which corresponds to 3.4 × 10−4 degrees. For the steps 2-9, an interfer-
ometer system, Verifire XPZ model of Zygo Company, has been used. In the last step, MTF
measurements were conducted with the help of a collimator system, OTEC 4000 Collimator
of Inframet Company.
As it was stated earlier, the surface form of the secondary was not good enough, and the mirror
has radial bars on its surface, which causes an inevitable decrease in the image quality and
also affects the results of interferometric alignment. Also, the measurements of primary mirror
could not be done interferometrically, so we can never be sure about the micro roughness of
the surface, we just know the profile (waviness) of the surface. The MTF measurements are
seemed to verify the alignment, even if the image quality is decreased because of the surface
problems on the primary and secondary mirrors.
In conclusion, the alignment of a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, consisting of two hyperbolic

mirrors and three field corrector lenses, has done interferometrically. The developments on
the micro positioning technology helped for the precise alignment of the optical elements. It
can be concluded that the MTF measurement is a good way to verify the alignment, since
it gives information about the final image quality. Therefore it is proved by the final MTF
measurements that the proposed alignment algorithm can be used for precise alignment of the
optical systems.
Also it is deduced that interferometric alignment procedure is an effective but a time consum-
ing process due to its sensitivity. Since the misalignment effects are doubled in the interfero-
metric image due to the double passage of the light through the optical system, the proposed
system has an advantage of precise alignment. In addition it is concluded from the study
that the surface qualities of the optical components in a system have great influence on the
alignment.
Therefore, for the future works, it is strongly recommended to perform the interferometric
surface quality measurements of all the elements before the alignment work. If the surface
profiles of the elements are good enough and if the aberration contribution of each element to
the system is known, then it will be easier to evaluate the resulting interference pattern, also
more sensitive alignment process can be conducted.
66
REFERENCES
[1] Andersen, G., The Telescope: Its History, Technology, and Future, Princeton University
Press, 2007.
[2] Kitchin, C.R., Telescopes and techniques: an introduction to practical astronomy, 2nd
Ed., Springer-Verlag London, 2003.
[3] Amateur Telescope Optics, http://www.telescope-optics.net, last visited on June 2012.
[4] Manly, P.L., Unusual Telescopes,Cambridge University Press, 1991.
[5] Gran Telescopio CANARIAS, http://www.gtc.iac.es/en/, last visited on June 2012.
[6] W.M. Keck Observatory, http://www.keckobservatory.org/, last visited on June 2012.
[7] Subaru Telescope, NAOJ, http://www.naoj.org/, last visited on June 2012.
[8] European Southern Observatory, http://www.eso.org/public/, last visited on June 2012.
[9] Gemini Observatory, http://www.gemini.edu/, last visited on June 2012.
[10] Hubble Project - LHEA team and group web sites - NASA,
http://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/archive/hubble/, last visited on June 2012.
[11] Markov, Haralambi, Markishki, Penco, Bonev, Tanju, Current status of the optic align-
ment of the 2m Rozhen telescope, Bulgarian Astronomical Journal, Vol. 12, p. 91.
[12] Javier, A., Paraxial optics, Encyclopedia of Optical Engineering, Taylor & Francis,
2003.
[13] Pedrotti, Pedrotti & Pedrotti, Introduction to Optics, 3rd Ed., Addison-Wesley, 2007.
[14] Geary, J.M., Introduction to optical testing, SPIE Press, 1993.
[15] Jenkins, F.A.,White, H.E., Fundamentals of Optics, 4th Ed., Mcgraw-Hill College, 1976
[16] Smith, W.J., Modern Optical Engineering, 3rd Ed., Mc-Graw-Hill Inc, 2000.
[17] Fisher, R.E., Biljana T.G., Optical System Design, SPIE Press-McGrawhill, 2000.
[18] Malacara, D., Optical Shop Testing, 3rd Ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007.
[19] The ATM’s Workshop, http://www.atm-workshop.com/ronchi-test.html, last visited on

June 2012.
[20] Goodwin, E.P.,Wyant, J.C., Field Guide to Interferometric Optical Testing, SPIE Press,
2006.
[21] Ceravolo, P. Using The Ross Null Test, Ceravolo Optical Systems, 2003
67
[22] Hariharan, P., Basics of Holography, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
[23] Burge, J.H., Wyant, J.C., Use of Computer Generated Holograms for Testing Aspheric
Optics, Optical Sciences Center, University of Arizona
[24] Hariharan, P., Optical Interferometry, 2nd Ed., Elsevier Academic Press, 2003.
[25] Hariharan, P., Basics of Interferometry, 2nd Ed., Elsevier Academic Press, 2007.
[26] The Free Dictionary, http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Fresnel+Mirrors, last

visited on June 2012.
[27] Pierre, B., Design and Construction of Large Optical Telescopes, Yves Springer Verlag,
2003.
[28] Rutten, H.G.J.,van Venrooij, M.A.M., Telescope Optics: A Comprehensive Manual for
Amateur Astronomers, Willmann-Bell, Inc., 1999.
[29] Satisloh - Optical Manufacturing Solutions, http://www.satisloh.com/, last visited on June

2012.
[30] Williams, C.S., Beklund, O.A., Introduction to the Optical Transfer Function, SPIE
Press, 2002.
[31] Riedl, M.J., Optical Design Fundamentals for Infrared Systems, 2nd Ed., SPIE Press,
2001.
[32] Boreman, G.D., Modulation Transfer Function in Optical and Electro-Optical Systems,
SPIE Press, 2001.
[33] Bourne, R., Fundamentals of Digital Imaging in Medicine, Springer-Verlag London,

2010.
[34] Zygo Corporation, http://www.zygo.com/, last visited on June 2012.
[35] Inframet, http://www.inframet.pl/, last visited on June 2012.
68
APPENDIX A
MODULATION TRANSFER FUNCTION
The Optical Transfer Function (OTF) is the frequency response, in terms of spatial frequency,
of an optical system to sinusoidal distributions of light intensity in the object plane [30]. The
OTF is a complex function, with the real part of it, in other words its amplitude, is called
the Modulation Transfer Function and the imaginary part of it is called the Phase Transfer
Function (PTF).
OPD = MT F xei PS F (A.1)
MTF is perhaps the most comprehensive criteria for the optical system performance of imag-
ing systems [17]. With the MTF, the image quality is measured as modulation (contrast)
against the spatial frequency [31]. Modulation is defined as;
Imax − Imin
Modulation = (A.2)
Imax + Imin
And the MTF is defined as;
Modulation in image
MT F = (A.3)
Modulation in object
Thus, the MTF tells us that, how well the modulation in the object is transferred to the image
by the optical system as a function of spatial frequency, where the spatial frequency is the
number of spacings per unit interval, and the unit is line pairs (cycles) per millimeter (or line
pairs (cycles) per milliradians). If the system is not perfect, then the modulation decreases
going from the object to the image with the increasing frequency, therefore when we plot
modulation transfer against spatial frequency, we obtain the MTF, generally a decreasing
function of spatial frequency.
69
Figure A.1: Imagery of a bar pattern [31]
Figure A.2: The decrease of modulation with the increasing frequency: MTF [32]
70
Commonly, a test pattern (target) consisting of a series of alternating light and dark bars of
equal width with some spatial frequency is used to test the optical performance of systems.
Figure A.3: Target of varying spatial frequency [32]
As the number of line pairs is increased the contrast of the image decreases.
Figure A.4: Target with increasing spatial frequency and the corresponding MTF graph [31]
There exists a spatial frequency where the contrast of the image is too low to be detected.
This spatial frequency is called the cut-off frequency where the imaged pattern can no longer
be resolved. For the aberration-free optical systems the cut off frequency is limited by the
71
diffraction, and above this frequency all the information is lost.
1
ν0 = (A.4)
λ( f /#)
The most popular method to measure the MTF is the knife-edge scanning method, in which
the image of a sharp, high contrast, straight edge, is taken. Since a line is the first derivative
of an edge, the Line Spread Function (LSF) is the first derivative of the Edge Spread Function
(ESF). The main reason for wanting to know the resolution of a system is to understand
how the edges in an image are blurred, therefore using the edge response have the advantage
that the measurements is the same form as the image information is encoded. Furthermore, by
taking the one dimensional Fourier transform of the LSF we can get directly the corresponding
MTF.
Figure A.5: The edge and line spread functions and the MTF curve [33]
The overall MTF of an electro-optical system is calculated by simply multiplying individual

MTFs of its subsystems.
72
APPENDIX B
ZYGO VERIFIRE XPZ INTERFEROMETER
The name of the interferometer used in alignment process is Verifire XPZ, belonging to the
Zygo Corporation.
Figure B.1: Zygo Verifire XPZ interferometer [34]
Table B.1: Verifire XPZ Interferometer specifications.
Measurement technique Mechanical phase-shifting interferometry (PSI)

Beam diameter 4 inch (120 mm) or 6 inch (152mm)
Laser source He-Ne, Class Laser IIIa
Wavelength 633 nm
Camera resolution 640 x 480 pixels
Camera frame rate 70 Hz
Acqusition time 173 ms
73
APPENDIX C
OTEC 4000 COLLIMATOR
Collimators are optical systems used to imitate standard targets placed in ”optical infinity”
(very long distance) [35].
Figure C.1: Different OTEC collimators [35]
OTEC 4000 system enables to test the optical objectives: resolution, MTF.
Table C.1: Specifications of the OTEC 4000 collimator.
Type on-axis, reflective

Spectral range 350-15000 nm
Active aperture 320 mm
Dead aperture 80 mm
Focal Length 4000 mm
Mirror accuracy λ/16
Type of light source multi channel LED
Wavelength of light source visible, 780 nm, 850 nm
Camera pixel size 6x6 µm
Camera pixel number 768 x 576
74

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A PRACTICAL ALIGNMENT ALGORITHM FOR CASSEGRAIN TYPE TELESCOPES

ESRA BENLİ ÖZTÜRK

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

A PRACTICAL ALIGNMENT ALGORITHM FOR CASSEGRAIN TYPE TELESCOPES

Prof. Dr. Canan Özgen

Prof. Dr. Mehmet T. Zeyrek

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Akif Esendemir

Examining Committee Members:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. H. Gül Yağlıoğlu

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Akif Esendemir

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Parlak

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Enver Bulur

Assit. Prof. Dr. Sinan Kaan Yerli

Name, Last Name: ESRA BENLİ ÖZTÜRK

A PRACTICAL ALIGNMENT ALGORITHM FOR CASSEGRAIN TYPE TELESCOPES

Benli Öztürk, Esra

August 2012, 74 pages

Keywords: Cassegrain, telescope, alignment, aberration

CASSEGRAİN TİPİ TELESKOPLAR İÇİN PRATİK BİR EKSENLENME YÖNTEMİ

Benli Öztürk, Esra

Ağustos 2012, 74 sayfa

Anahtar Kelimeler: Cassegrain, teleskop, eksenleme,aberasyon

TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

1.1 The Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.2 Objective of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.3 Structure of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2 MISALIGNMENT AND ABERRATION THEORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.2 Aberration Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.2.1 Spherical Aberration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2.2.4 Field Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.2.6 Chromatic Aberration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2.3 Advantages of Cassegrain Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3 SURFACE QUALITY MEASUREMENT METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

3.1 Foucault-Knife Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

3.2 Ronchi Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3.4 Hindle Sphere Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

5.1 Theory of Cassegrain Type Telescope Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

5.2 Design Parameters of the Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

6 ALIGNING THE TELESCOPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

6.1 Lens Centering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

6.1.1 Lens Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

6.1.2 Centering Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

6.2 System Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

6.2.1 Flat Mirror Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

6.2.2 Secondary Mirror Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

6.2.2.1 Rough Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

6.2.2.2 Fine Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

6.3 Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) Measurements . . . . . . . . . 57

6.3.1 Usability of MTF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

6.3.3 Discussion of MTF Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

A MODULATION TRANSFER FUNCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

B ZYGO VERIFIRE XPZ INTERFEROMETER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

C OTEC 4000 COLLIMATOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Table 1.1 World’s major telescopes and their telescope designs. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Table 2.1 Cassegrain designs and their limiting aberrations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Table 5.1 Conic constants, κ, and related conic surfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Table 5.2 Prescription data of Ritchey-Chrétien design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Table 5.3 Data of corrector elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Table B.1 Verifire XPZ Interferometer specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Table C.1 Specifications of the OTEC 4000 collimator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Figure 2.1 Despace, decenter, tip and tilt of an optical element. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Figure 2.2 Some possible cases of misalignment of Cassegrain telescope . . . . . . . 6

Figure 2.4 Illustration of ray and wave aberrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9