Patent ID: 6577403
Filing Date: 2003-06-10
Classification: G01J

Abstract:
A system for analyzing the wavefront of a light beam, comprising:(a) input optics optically conjugating a reference plane with a plane in which said wavefront is analyzed, (b) a two-dimensional intensity grating with rectangular meshing in the reference plane, said intensity grating having an elementary intensity mesh in which an elementary intensity pattern is disposed and which is of length L in a first direction of said rectangular meshing and of width l in a second direction of said rectangular meshing, (c) a two-dimensional phase grating with rectangular meshing in the reference plane, said phase grating having an elementary phase mesh in which an elementary phase pattern is disposed and which is of length 2L in the first direction of said rectangular meshing of said phase grating and of width 2l in the second direction of said rectangular meshing of said phase grating, (d) said elementary phase meshes having sides coinciding with sides of said elementary intensity meshes, and said elementary phase pattern introducing a phase shift close to &pgr; (modulo 2&pgr;) between two secondary beams passing through two adjacent elementary intensity patterns, and (e) means for observing an image formed by interference between said secondary beams in a plane located at a predetermined distance from said reference plane, deformations in said image being related to the slope of the analyzed wavefront.