High precision mode of subaperture stitching for optical surfaces measurement

Subaperture stitching (SAS) provides us with an attractive way of extending the effective aperture and dynamic range of phase measuring interferometers. Accuracy of stitching algorithm becomes the key factor in the SAS technology. In this paper, the basic principle of SAS was introduced and four modes of SAS were discussed. The stitching experiments were done through the SSI-300 workstation designed and developed independently. There were several comparisons between the four different stitching methods and the measurement of full aperture. The results suggest that the global error averaging mode with reference of subaperture near optic axis is of high precision.