Mathematical solutions to the problem of creating basic decenter optical mirror models from the coma and astigmatism correction conditions

A serious drawback of reflective optics is a center without central screening that degrades the image quality. To eliminate it, rotations or displacements of mirrors are introduced, but there appear even-order non-elementary aberrations that must be corrected. The creation of compositions with decentered catoptric elements requires further development of the calculation and methodological base. The exact formulas are obtained for calculation of real rays from the astigmatism and coma correction conditions for the given angles of incidence of the main ray on the mirror surfaces and the “oblique” thickness d, that determines their mutual position. Based on the proposed formulas, a new method for parametric calculation of decentered mirror systems has been created, which allows one to compose algorithms and to design both basic models and complex mirror systems from off-axis mirrors. The development of new algorithms for two- and three-mirror off-center lenses will increase the accumulated potential of computational optics. The scope of the proposed technique can be expanded in terms of the number of components.

Sub-nanograin metal based high efficiency multilayer reflective optics for high energies

The present finding illuminates the physics of the formation of interfaces of metal based hetero-structures near layer continuous limit as an approach to develop high-efficiency W/B4C multilayer optics with varying periods at a fixed large layer pairs.

Metrology of a Focusing Capillary Using Optical Ptychography

The focusing property of an ellipsoidal monocapillary has been characterized using the ptychography method with a 405 nm laser beam. The recovered wavefront gives a 12.5×10.4μm2 focus. The reconstructed phase profile of the focused beam can be used to estimate the height error of the capillary surface. The obtained height error shows a Gaussian distribution with a standard deviation of 1.3 μm. This approach can be used as a quantitative tool for evaluating the inner functional surfaces of reflective optics, complementary to conventional metrology methods.