This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 11479, including the Title Page, Copyright information, and Table of Contents.

Welcome to the Roland Shack Memorial Conference

An electromagnetic wave-packet propagating in a linear, homogeneous, and isotropic medium changes shape while its envelope travels with different velocities at different points in spacetime. In general, a wave-packet can be described as a superposition of plane-waves having different frequencies ω and different propagation vectors k. While the angular spread of the k-vectors gives rise to diffractive effects, it is the frequency-dependence of the refractive index of the host medium that is commonly associated with optical dispersion. When the spectral distribution of the wave-packet is confined to a narrow band of frequencies, and also when the spread of the k-vectors is not too broad, it is possible, under certain circumstances, to obtain analytical expressions for the local and/or global trajectory of the packet’s envelope as it evolves in time. This paper is an attempt at a systematic description of the underlying physical assumptions and mathematical arguments leading to certain well-known properties of narrowband electromagnetic wave-packets in the presence of diffractive as well as (temporally) dispersive effects.

Several factors affect image quality in scientific measurement systems. These factors were subjects researched and taught by Professor Roland Shack during his career. We examine image formation in science instruments within the frame-work of our current understanding of physical optics. Our motivation is to increase instrument scientific yield and minimize cost. We consider the collective effects of polarization aberrations, partial coherence, optical materials, diffraction, optical surface count, scattered light (bulk and surface) and 1st order optical system mechanical lay-out.

Dr. Shack's accomplishments profoundly influenced the author's successes. His Geometric Optics 204 course in fall '73 was a key bridge between undergraduate physics and the advanced graduate curriculum of the Optical Sciences Center. The lab of that course provided the solid classical background required to function well in the other optical courses. The Y-Ybar diagram analysis tool, aberration theory notes, and lesson on kinematic plates were used by the author often throughout his professional career. This presentation will identify specific contributions of Dr. Shack that helped create value in a defense aerospace industrial environment, such as the Shack-Hartmann interferometer. Several unique stories will also be shared to illustrate Shack's wisdom and dedication to education. Dr. Shack not only served on the author's dissertation committee, but was also a key element of the Optical Science Center's recipe of success.

Prof. Roland V. Shack made many contributions to the fields of optical engineering through his unique observations and insightful interpretations to complex topics. One of the unique tools that I learned from Prof. Shack’s work is his teaching of graphical methods to Gaussian beam propagation and imaging. In this presentation, I will review the graphical methods to Gaussian beam interpretation developed by Prof. Shack and demonstrate examples of how the graphical methods can be used for propagating and imaging Gaussian beam in optical systems. The examples are primarily derived from what I learned from Prof. Shack’s notes and how I applied his method to my teaching in an undergraduate laboratory course.

The scatterplate interferometer is an amazing instrument invented by James M. Burch in 1953 for testing optical components and it is especially good for testing concave mirrors. This interferometer requires no high-quality optical components and it generates its own reference wavefront without having a reference surface. The light source does not have to be a point source or monochromatic - almost any light source will work. The path lengths of the two interferometer paths are automatically matched and, regardless of the reflectance of the test mirror, the light intensities of the two interfering beams are matched. The interferometer is not very sensitive to vibration and it is inexpensive to build. There are several ways to use phase-shifting techniques with the interferometer. This talk will describe and explain the properties of the amazing scatterplate interferometer.

This paper discusses the impact that Roland Shack and his eponymous wavefront sensor have had on the development of active optics in astronomy. There are a number of interesting threads to this story, from the early concept development and its drivers, to the uptake and realization by the broader astronomical community of the advantages offered by this system. Shack’s innovation not only directly benefited numerous large-scale astronomical projects, but it can be shown to have further inspired innovation, proving yet again that the “intangible benefits” of technical innovation are often themselves significant considerations. Another interesting aspect of this story is that via a quite distinct line of investigation initiated by Shack in the 1970’s, an important conceptual omission in the application of the wavefront sensor to the first generation of active telescopes was recognized, and resultant improvements have further enabled a new generation of active telescopes and in particular wide-field survey telescopes.

The Shack Hartmann wavefront sensor was adapted to measure the aberrations of the human eye in the 1990s. The ability to rapidly and accurately measure ocular aberrations unleashed a flurry of activity targeting understanding the dynamics of the eye’s aberrations, as well as the development of a wide array of technologies to correct these aberrations on an individual basis. This paper describes some of the adaptations necessary to enable the Shack Hartmann sensor to work with the eye, and illustrates several different form factors and novel techniques that have been used to expand the dynamic range of the sensor. Furthermore, some of the revelations of population-based studies of ocular aberrations will be reviewed, including insights into the optical design of the eye. Finally, various means of correcting the measured aberrations including laser refractive surgery, custom contact lenses and even spectacle lenses will be described to illustrate current capabilities of ocular wavefront correction and potential pitfalls associated with the various modalities.

In April of 1972 Professor Roland Shack presented a series of four colloquium talks at the Optical Sciences Center at the University of Arizona in which he reformulated scalar diffraction theory in terms of the direction cosines of the propagation vectors of the angular spectrum of plane waves described by the Fourier integral transform of the diffracting aperture. The fourth lecture, entitled Radiometry and Lambert’s Law, describeddiffuse reflectance and surface scatter phenomena as merely a diffraction phenomenon caused by random phase variations in the system pupil function. In 1974 he elegantly condensed these four lectures into a single colloquium talk entitled A Global View of Diffraction. This paper is intended to provide a compilation showing the further development of that work over the last forty-six years.

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission is a space-based gravitational wave detector consisting of three spacecraft with two transceiver telescopes per spacecraft. In addition to tight wavefront error control as expected for an interferometric system, there are tight pupil imaging and optical path length specifications. We use concepts gleaned from pupil aberration theory to understand these latter two constraints and show how these concepts led to a successful design for the LISA transceiver.

Both spherical aberration and linear coma are corrected (i.e. the Abbe Sine Condition) in an aplanatic optical system which besides diffraction-limited axial imagery, tend to be less sensitive to misalignments. In general this can be accomplished by properly aspherizing two sufficiently separated surfaces such as in the Ritchey-Chretien telescope. However for a practical focusing or collimating singlet lens with object at infinity, there are relatively straightforward analytical solutions in which spherical is corrected by just one asphere and coma by either the thickness or shape (bending) factor. This is exactly true to third-order and nearly so to all orders even for numerical apertures (NA) approaching one. The solutions yield some surprising results not only for the common convex-plano case, but also highly meniscus lenses with large or even infinite shape factors.

Intrinsic and induced aberrations can be important contributors to the total aberration content of a lens. Theory for induced aberrations has been explored and recently advanced. Macros for calculating and targeting intrinsic and induced aberrations have been written. We briefly discuss wave aberration theory and induced aberration theory, including algorithmic advancements. We demonstrate the application of the recent theory and new macros in lens optimization.

Freeform optics is poised to revolutionize the optical systems of our collective future, including high precision imaging systems. In this tribute paper to Roland Victor Shack, we tell the story of how Nodal Aberration Theory (NAT), invented by Shack and developed to 5th order by Kevin Paul Thompson, took on an incredible journey to become the foundation for the aberrations of freeform optics. Nodal Aberration Theory was conceived initially to understand the aberrations of misaligned optical systems. Nodal aberration theory is beautiful, as is any mathematical construct that reduces complex problems into simple formulations. The impact of moving from 100 years of design with rotationally symmetric surfaces (or sections of) into freeform optics is tremendous and opens the design space towards higher performance, more aggressive specifications in the field of view and F/#, more compact solutions, broadband solutions, and distortion-free or distortion-tailored designs.

We previously proposed a rotationally shearing interferometer (RSI)to detect an extrasolar planet using two apertures rotating on large arms, such as placed on satellites in the earth orbit. For the laboratory demonstration we implemented a single aperture RSI, in a Mach-Zender configuration sing a Dove prism to shear the wave front. We present a theoretical development and description of performance of a RSI. We apply it to problem of extra-solar planet detection.