Optimal detector positioning for full vector Zernike wavefront sensing

Investigate the optimal detector positioning for a vector Zernike wavefront sensor with a Wollaston prism, specifically determining whether both polarization-separated pupil images should be placed in the same conjugation plane to fully exploit the information provided by the vector sensor.

Background

The demonstrated OZIRIIS system used a vector Zernike wavefront sensor, but the detector was aligned with only the pupil image corresponding to the single Zernike wavefront-sensor channel used for real-time closed-loop control. The second polarization-separated pupil image was therefore not positioned optimally for the nonlinear reconstruction that uses both channels. Because the Wollaston prism introduces distinct pupil planes, detector positioning may affect the quality and usefulness of the complementary measurements. The authors identify the optimal positioning—and in particular the possibility of placing both pupil images in a common conjugation plane—as an unresolved issue for future implementations.