Optical characterization of MEMS micro-mirror arrays using digital holographic Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor: a new technique

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Micro-Mirror Arrays (MMAs) are widely used in advanced laser beam steering systems and as adaptive optical elements. The new generation of MEMS MMAs are fabricated by bulk micromachining of a single Silicon-On-Insulator wafer. Optical characterization of MEMS MMAs can be done by direct detection of the reflected beams or by using more advanced wavefront measuring techniques, such as a phase-shifting interferometer or Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. In the case of an interferometer, the geometry of the tested MMA can be calculated after performing the phase unwrapping procedure, which can be quite complex. In the latter case of the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, careful selection of a high-quality array of microlenses is required in order to match the capabilities of the wavefront sensor to the measured wavefront produced by the MMA. The presented digital Shack-Hartmann technique is a modified approach for wavefront characterization based on digital processing of the interferometer data. The optical wavefront from the tested MMA is mixed with the reference wavefront. Then the recorded interference intensity image is Fourier transformed producing digitally synthesized images of the optical beams in the far field. Therefore, the digital version of the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor does not require the use of an array of microlenses and is primarily limited by the detector array geometry. One can digitally generate any configuration of subapertures corresponding to various geometries of microlenses. However, this new technique does require coherent optical mixing of the two wavefronts in order to produce the interference pattern.