Partial compensation interferometry measurement system for parameter errors of conicoid surface

Surface parameters, such as vertex radius of curvature and conic constant, are used to describe the shape of an aspheric surface. Surface parameter errors (SPEs) are deviations affecting the optical characteristics of an aspheric surface. Precise measurement of SPEs is critical in the evaluation of optical surfaces. In this paper, a partial compensation interferometry measurement system for SPE of a conicoid surface is proposed based on the theory of slope asphericity and the best compensation distance. The system is developed to measure the SPE-caused best compensation distance change and SPE-caused surface shape change and then calculate the SPEs with the iteration algorithm for accuracy improvement. Experimental results indicate that the average relative measurement accuracy of the proposed system could be better than 0.02% for the vertex radius of curvature error and 2% for the conic constant error.