Optical alignment
Participants will develop the skills necessary to align a variety of optical components in the lab. An introductory lecture will cover the basics of alignment, including degrees of freedom, optical surfaces and axes, predicting performance due to misalignment, and common alignment techniques. The main focus of the workshop is four lab sessions that will allow participants to gain hands-on experience with these techniques. The broad themes of the sessions are: alignment using an axis of rotation, alignment using a line of sight, alignment of off-axis systems and alignment of aspheres. Participants will learn how to use common alignment hardware and evaluate alignment quality, as well as develop tools for creating an alignment plan and avoiding common pitfalls.
Matt Dubin, Workshop instructor