The necessity to align a multi component null corrector that is used to test the 8.4 [m] off axis parabola segments of the primary mirror of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) initiated this work. Computer Generated Holograms (CGHs) are often a component of these null correctors and their capability to have multiplefunctionality allows them not only to contribute to the measurement wavefront but also support the alignment. The CGH can also be used as an external tool to support the alignment of complex optical systems, although, for the applications shown in this work, the CGH is always a component of the optical system. In general CGHs change the shape of the illuminating wavefront that then can produce optical references. The uncertainty of position of those references not only depends on the uncertainty of position of the CGH with respect to the illuminating wavefront but also on the uncertainty on the shape of the illuminating wavefront. A complete analysis of the uncertainty on the position of the projected references therefore includes the illuminating optical system, that is typically an interferometer. This work provides the relationships needed to calculate the combined propagation of uncertainties on the projected optical references. This includes a geometrical optical description how light carries information of position and how diffraction may alter it. Any optical reference must be transferred to a mechanically tangible quantity for the alignment. The process to obtain the position of spheres relative to the CGH pattern where, the spheres are attached to the CGH, is provided and applied to the GMT null corrector. Knowing the location of the spheres relative to the CGH pattern is equivalent to know the location of the spheres with respect to the wavefront the pattern generates. This work provides various tools for the design and analysis to use CGHs for optical alignment including the statistical foundation that goes with it.

The growing field of high-order aspheric and freeform optical fabrication has inspired the creation of optical surfaces and systems which are difficult to align. Advances in optical alignment technology are critical to fabricating and integrating aspheric components in advanced optical systems. This dissertation explores the field of optical alignment with a computer-generated hologram (CGH) used as a reference. A CGH is a diffractive optic which may be used to create a desired phase profile across a beam of light, project irradiance patterns, or serve as a mask for an incident beam. The alignment methods presented in this dissertation are concerned with the use of a CGH to create reference phase profiles, or "wavefronts" , in a beam. In one application a set of axisymmetric CGH references are co-aligned. Each CGH has also been aligned to an aspheric mirror so the co-alignment of the CGH references is also a co-alignment of the aspheric mirrors. Another application is concerned with aligning an interferometer to test an aspheric mirror surface. The interferometer measures a "null" interference pattern when its wavefront accommodates a known surface profile. In this alignment application the CGH creates wavefronts which accommodate a known set of small spherical reference features at the test surface. An interference null from all the "phase fiducial" reference features indicates an aligned projection of the CGH. The CGH co-alignment method is implemented on a 4-mirror prime focus corrector known as the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Wide Field Corrector (HET WFC). It is shown that this method was very successful for centration alignment of some mirrors, whereas mechanical stability was the hardware limitation for other degrees of freedom. The additional alignment methods used in this project are described in detail and the expected alignment of the HET WFC is reported.The fabrication, characterization and application of spherical phase fiducials is demonstrated in a CGH-corrected Fizeau test prototype. It is shown that these reference features achieve <±1.5µm transverse alignment precision. A pair of phase fiducials is also applied to constrain the clocking and magnification of a projected wavefront. Fabrication and coordinate measurement of the features present the dominant challenges in these demonstrations.

Este trabalho trata da caracterização eletroóptica de cristais orgânicos, a saber: L-arginina fosfatada, L-alanina e L-treonina. O aspecto teórico que envolve este efeito nestes cristais é descrito, discutindo a forma de manifestação do efeito em cada um dos grupos de simetria cristalina aos quais pertencem. Além disso, discutimos e observamos a ocorrência de efeitos de natureza piezoelétrica durante o processo de caracterização eletroóptica. / This work reports on the electrooptical characterization of organic crystals, namely: L-arginine phosphate monohidrate, Lalanine and L-threonine. We describe the theoretical aspect in these crystals discussing how the effect occurs according to the symmetry groups of each one. Furthermore, we discuss and observe the occurrence of piezoelectric effects during the electrooptical characterization.

Der weltraumgestützte Gravitationswellendetektor LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) besteht aus drei identischen Satelliten an Bord derer sich jeweils zwei frei schwebende Testmassen befinden. Die Lage der einzelnen Testmassen in Bezug auf die zugehörige optische Bank muss mit einer Genauigkeit besser 1 pm/sqrt(Hz) in der Abstands- und besser 10 nrad/sqrt(Hz) in der Winkelmessung erfolgen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein kompaktes optisches Auslesesystem präsentiert, welches als Prototyp für diese Abstands- und Winkelmetrologie dient. Das dafür entwickelte polarisierende Heterodyn-Interferometer mit räumlich getrennten Frequenzen basiert auf einem hoch-symmetrischen Design, bei dem zur optimalen Gleichtakt-Unterdrückung Mess- und Referenzarm die gleiche Polarisation und Frequenz sowie annähernd gleiche optische Pfade haben. Für die Winkelmessung wird die Methode der differentiellen Wellenfrontmessung eingesetzt. In einem ersten Prototyp-Aufbau wird ein Rauschniveau von weniger als 100 pm/sqrt(Hz) in der Translations- und von weniger als 100 nrad/sqrt(Hz) in der Winkelmessung (beides für Frequenzen oberhalb 0.1 Hz) demonstriert. In einem zweiten Prototyp-Aufbau werden zusätzlich eine Intensitätsstabilisierung und ein Phasenlock der beiden Frequenzen implementiert. Die analoge Phasenmessung ist durch eine digitale, FPGA basierte, ersetzt. Mit diesem Aufbau wird ein Rauschen kleiner 5 pm/sqrt(Hz) in der Translationsmessung und kleiner 10 nrad/sqrt(Hz) in der Winkelmessung, beides für Frequenzen größer 0.01 Hz, erreicht. Eine Rausch-Analyse wurde durchgeführt und die Nichtlinearitäten des Interferometers bestimmt. Das Interferometer wurde im Hinblick auf die LISA Mission entwickelt, findet seine Anwendung aber auch bei der Charakterisierung der dimensionalen Stabilität von ultra-stabilen Materialien sowie in der optischen Profilometrie. Die Adaptierung des Interferometers dazu sowie erste Resultate zu beiden Anwendungen werden in dieser Arbeit präsentiert. / The space-based gravitational wave detector LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) consists of three identical satellites. Each satellite accommodates two free-flying proof masses whose distance and tilt with respect to its corresponding optical bench must be measured with at least 1 pm/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity in translation and at least 10 nrad/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity in tilt measurement. In this thesis, a compact optical readout system is presented, which serves as a prototype for the LISA proof mass attitude metrology. We developed a polarizing heterodyne interferometer with spatially separated frequencies. For optimum common mode rejection, it is based on a highly symmetric design, where measurement and reference beam have the same frequency and polarization, and similar optical pathlengths. The method of differential wavefront sensing (DWS) is utilized for the tilt measurement. In a first prototype setup noise levels below 100 pm/sqrt(Hz) in translation and below 100 nrad/sqrt(Hz) in tilt measurement (both for frequencies above 0.1 Hz) are achieved. A second prototype was developed with additional intensity stabilization and phaselock of the two heterodyne frequencies. The analog phase measurement is replaced by a digital one, based on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). With this setup, noise levels below 5 pm/sqrt(Hz) in translation measurement and below 10 nrad/sqrt(Hz) in tilt measurement, both for frequencies above 0.01Hz, are demonstrated. A noise analysis was carried out and the nonlinearities of the interferometer were measured. The interferometer was developed for the LISA mission, but it also finds its application in characterizing the dimensional stability of ultra-stable materials such as carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) and in optical profilometry. The adaptation of the interferometer and first results in both applications are presented in this work.

The goal of the thesis is to fabricate the integrated asymmetric Mach-Zehnder Interferometer and optical waveguide ring resonator with simple fabrication process. 1.41£gm and 1.49£gm symmetric quantum well InGaAlAs epitaxial wafer is used to fabricate the devices. In the asymmetric Mach-Zehnder Interferometer , we design asymmetric straight waveguides with difference optical path differences £GL=480£gm, 970£gm, and 1900£gm. And asymmetric bend waveguides with curvature radius differences £GR=260£gm, 200£gm, 160£gm, and 100£gm. By this design, we can observe the interference variation of output light. In optical waveguide ring resonator design, we reduce the length of original K=0.15 Multi-Mode Interference (MMI) by stepped-width waveguide. By three-stepped width waveguide MMI design, it can be reduced 33.2% length. We obtain different transmission spectrum by adjusting the splitting ratio of MMI couplers (K=0.85, 0.5, and 0.15) and cascading doudle rings. We use a series of two ring resonators by MMI (K0=0.5,K1=0.15,K2=0.5) to get the FSR=50GHz. In fabrication process, we combined dry etching method with RIE-ICP and wet etching to get smooth sidewall and highly vertical waveguide. In measure , we get the FSR= 41.25 GHZ in throughput port in double ring filters . No signal in drop port was obserred due to material absorption, bending loss, and waveguide loss.

This work is a description of the Visible to near Infrared Spectrograph system for the CHARA array. The CHARA Array is a 6-telescope interferometer at the Mount Wilson Observatory in the mountains north of Pasadena, California. It combines the light from the 1-meter telescopes, and measures the visibility of the resulting interference fringes, which gives information about the source intensity distribution on the sky. The resolution of the instrument is proportional to the telescope separation, or baseline, divided by the wavelength. The VIS system operates in the 600-1000~nm wavelength range, a factor of 3 to 4 shorter than the standard operating wavelength at CHARA, 2.13 um. An introduction to interferometry is given, with a description of the CHARA Array. The effects of diffraction through the system combined with atmospheric turbulence are described, and the results of a computer model given. The VIS system design is described, and results of the first fringe data are presented, including system visibility and throughput estimates.

The primary barrier to the production of better machined parts is machine tool error. Present day applications are requiring closer machine part tolerances. The errors in dimensional part accuracy derive from the machine, in this case, a vertical two axis CNC lathe. A two axis vertical lathe can be utilized to produce a variety of parts ranging from cylindrical features to spherical features. A vertical lathe requires a spindle to rotate the work at speeds reaching 3000rpm, while simultaneously requiring the machine tool to be positioned in such a manner to remove material and produce an accurate part. For this to be possible, the machine tool must be precisely controlled in order to produce the correct contours on the part. There are many sources of errors to be considered in the two axis vertical lathe. Each axis of importance contains six degrees of freedom. The machine has linear displacement, angular, spindle thermal drift, straightness, parallelism, orthogonal, machine tool offset and roundness error. These error components must be measured in order to determine the resultant error. The characterization of the machine addresses thermal behavior and geometric errors. This thesis presents the approach of determining the machine tool errors and using these errors to transform the actual tool path closer to the nominal tool path via compensation schemes. One of these schemes uses a laser interferometer in conjunction with a homogenous transformation matrix to construct the compensated path for a circular arc, facing and turning. The other scheme uses a ball bar system to directly construct the compensated tool path for a circular arc. Test parts were created to verify the improvement of the part accuracy using the compensated tool paths.

In the literatures of investigating the coupling mechanism between laser diodes and fibers, Gaussian beam profile was used to describe the propagation of laser beams. But the real laser diode beams exist astigmatism. In order to understand the distributions of real laser diode beams, we used single-mode fiber interferometer to measure the near-field intensity and phase distributions of laser diodes. The nanometer aperture of taper fiber was used to scan through the horizontal and vertical directions across the maximal intensity point of the planes which were perpendicular to propagation axis to measure the intensity and phase distributions of laser diodes. In the measurement of phase distributions, these two single-mode fibers produced interference fringes through accepting laser beams. When the taper fiber scanned the optical field and the reference fiber kept a fixed distance from a laser diode for a stationary phase, the interference fringes shifted because of the phase difference of laser diodes change. In the measurement, in order to improve the stability of interference fringes and consider the aperture of taper fiber, we altered some experiment frameworks. There were four types of experimental framework. According to the experiment results of the near-field measurements, the measured beam widths along the horizontal and vertical directions at the laser diode facet were 4.11 £gm and 1.57 £gm respectively. The measured wavefront radius curvature were 6.59 £gm and 2.96 £gm in horizontal axis and vertical axis respectively. After Gaussian beam fitting, the beam widths along the horizontal and vertical directions at the laser diode facet were 4.04 £gm and 0.83 £gm respectively. The difference in beam widths between measured values and Gaussian fitting were 0.07 £gm and 0.74 £gm. The measured beam widths and the Gaussian beam curve fitting had similar results. We could see that the beam spread tendency in the z-axis for the laser beam which propagated in the z direction. In the phase distribution measurement, the measured wavefront radius curvatures and the theoretically calculated Gaussian beam values had a slight difference. The calculated wavefront radius curvatures at the laser diode facet were 11921.51 £gm and 3.48 £gm in horizontal axis and vertical axis respectively. They were 1809 times and 1.2 times of the measured values. The aperture of taper fiber was expanded because of the energy of laser beams, which also caused the spatial resolution degeneration. Moreover, the wavefront radius curvature in horizontal direction was biggish so the measurement framework also limited the ability of the phase distribution measurement. The above points were the reasons to cause the error of the phase distribution measurement. Furthermore, the measurement of the laser diode facet is under investigation.

In this study, we focus on the electric optical characteristic of guest/host polymer system. The charge transfer chromophore Wu182 which contain fluorine atom in it was mixed with polymer PMMA and solved in chloroform, while DR1/PMMA served as reference sample. The wu182/PMMA and DR1/PMMA thin films were produced by spin coating. The thin film was poled at the temperature above glass transition temperature until the second harmonic generation signal was present. The poled thin film was placed in one arm of Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Voltage modulation applied to the polymer films can cause phase changes in the interferometer from that we estimate the electro-optic coefficient. From our experiments, we found that modulating frequency had significant influence on the electro-optic effect. The result shows that Wu182 possess large nonlinear optical coefficient. The valid electro-optic coefficient r13 was obtained to be 2.620 pm/V when the frequency was above 6 kHz.

The main purpose of the optical fiber sensing technology is to detect perturbation of physical fields. By means of some demodulating scheme, we can extract the real signal from those light beams which modified by physical fields. In the thesis, we proposed a configuration of modified Sagnac Interferometer as a sensing system. The optical sensing and demodulation system are exploited separately. Next, we study the advantages and disadvantages of the configuration. Besides, we are also measured the sensitivity and dynamic range. The sensing system used a low coherence light source to reduce cost. This system also improves the shortage of a Sagnac Interferometer which has a blind point in the middle position. In addition, the structure is easily implemented and can detect weak signal in a high noisy water environment. For matching the main structure, we make many kinds of sensing heads for detecting signals under water. We also use the mathematical model as the base of the theory. The dynamic range is 40 dB and the sensitivity is -231.47 dB re V/uPa.