Off-axis surface tolerance analysis: tips and tricks

Vania Da Deppo

doi:10.1117/12.2313435

5 June 2018 Off-axis surface tolerance analysis: tips and tricks

Vania Da Deppo

Proceedings Volume 10690, Optical Design and Engineering VII; 106902Q (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313435
Event: SPIE Optical Systems Design, 2018, Frankfurt, Germany

Abstract

Off-axis and eccentric pupil optical configurations are becoming more and more used in a variety of applications, in particular they are the most preferred solution for cameras devoted to study planetary surfaces, small solar system bodies (i.e. asteroids and comets) and also the atmospheres of the exoplanets. These optical designs, being devoid of central obstruction, are able to guarantee better PSF and MTF performance, and thus higher contrast imaging capabilities with respect to classical on-axis designs. In particular they are suitable for looking at extended targets with intrinsic low contrast features, or scenes where a high dynamic signal range is present. The tolerance analysis tools available in most of the commercial raytracing software packages are able to deal automatically with on-axis surfaces, but they have to be adapted for considering the off-axis cases. In particular, some tricks have to be considered in the definition of the off-axis surfaces to obtain the correct tolerance results when the way in which the surfaces are manufactured and/or mounted needs to be taken into account. For example, an off-axis section of a conic surface can be either obtained by cutting an off-axis piece from a large on-axis parent element or, as it is more common nowadays, by manufacturing it stand-alone. In this paper, a review of the tricks that the author has devised during her twenty-year experience in designing and tolerancing off-axis systems will be given. In particular the methods adopted to deal with the surface tolerance analysis of some off-axis instruments for space applications will be described in detail.

Citation Download Citation

Vania Da Deppo "Off-axis surface tolerance analysis: tips and tricks", Proc. SPIE 10690, Optical Design and Engineering VII, 106902Q (5 June 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313435

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
7 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Tolerancing

Optical components

Mirrors

Off axis mirrors

Optics manufacturing

Telescopes

Optical design

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years