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CGH Cylinder Nulls

H95F3C Cylinder Null

How They Work

Our CGH Cylinder Nulls are cylindrical zone plates with a linear carrier perpendicular to the cylinder axis. They produce a cylindrical test beam from the collimated test beam of your Fizeau or Twyman-Green interferometer.

Each CGH Cylinder Null is surrounded by an annular aperture linear reflective grating which diffracts the collimated test beam back onto itself. By turning adjustment screws to remove the annular tilt fringes, the CGH null is optically aligned to your interferometer test beam.

CGH Cylinder Nulls are switched between positive and negative focal length by reversing the tilt of the collimated input beam. Both diffracted orders exist and the correct wavefront must be selected.

Easy to Use
Step 1: Mount CGH Cylinder Null in collimated test beam with logo facing test optic.
Step 2: Tilt 1 degree counter-clockwise about y-axis for converging test beam or 1 degree clockwise for diverging test beam. Adjust tilt-tip to null alignment annulus.
Step 3: Adjust test cylinder tilt, tip, focus and clock to acquire and null interferogram.

Several Models Available

We offer several standard CGH Cylinder Nulls for use with 632.8 nm wavelength interferometers. Models H45F1.5C and H80F2C are e-beam mastered on highest grade commercial photomask blanks. Other models are contact printed from e-beam submasters onto precision substrates.

Mechanical interference with the CGH frame reduces the maximum cylinder radius from B.F.D. to Rmax for convex test cylinders larger than the CGH aperture.

CGH Cylinder Nulls
Model No. Aperture
(mm)
F/# B.F.D.
(mm)
Rmax
(mm)
Frame Pattern
(wv)
Substrate
(wv)
Raytrace
Model
Price* Export*
H45F1.5C Ø45 F/1.5 ±65 64 50R 0.17 0.5 OSLO ZEMAX n/a $3120 $3430
H45F2.4C Ø45 F/2.4  ±105 104 50R 0.18 0.1 OSLO ZEMAX CodeV $3120 $3430
H45F4.5C Ø45 F/4.5  ±201 200 50R 0.08 0.1 OSLO ZEMAX CodeV $2700 $2970
H45F8C Ø45 F/8 ±360 359 50R 0.05 0.1 OSLO ZEMAX CodeV $2500 $2750
H95F3C Ø95 F/3 ±281 279 120R 0.13 0.1 OSLO ZEMAX CodeV $7000 $7700
H95F6C Ø95 F/6 ±568 566 120R 0.07 0.1 OSLO ZEMAX CodeV $6100 $6710
H80F2C 80x80 F/2 ±155 153 120R 0.12 <1.0 OSLO ZEMAX CodeV $7000 $7700
H80F3C 80x80 F/3 ±236 234 120R 0.12 <1.0 OSLO ZEMAX CodeV $7000 $7700
*Note that prices are 10 percent higher outside U.S. and Canada.

Accuracy

Test accuracy is limited by CGH pattern, substrate and interferometer errors. Pattern error increases with decreasing F/# because of the smaller minimum grating period. Wavefront distortion of CGH substrates is measured before and after phase etching and shipped with each null.

System errors of your interferometer and transmission flat may be compensated in the usual manner—by testing a known flat and subtracting the result from subsequent interferograms.

Interferogram Visibility

Our CGH Cylinder Nulls are phase gratings with a nominal diffraction efficiency of 40 percent—16 percent in double pass. Interferogram visibility is suitable for test optic reflectivities ranging from 1 to 100 percent, peaking for a reflectivity of about 20 percent.

For large aperture interferometers, brightness may be reduced when zoomed to an aperture smaller than about Ø30 mm.

Meeting Your Needs

We can provide custom CGH Cylinder Nulls for other F/#’s and apertures. We can also provide chrome-type CGH nulls for transmission testing of cylinders with a return flat. Please allow us the opportunity to address your cylinder testing needs.