Application Note: Reduce Cost Of Optics And Final Assembly: The Benefits Of Laser-Reflection Based Ultra-Precision Active Alignment

By Steve Bohuczky and Sasha Perlman, Opto-Alignment Technology, Inc.

Aligning and centering lenses for cementing or positioning in an optical system poses different challenges depending on the final precision requirements and the methods used during alignment. Desired quality, efficiency, cost of components and capital investment all play important roles in selecting the correct assembly method. The LASER ALIGNMENT AND ASSEMBLY STATION™ (LAS) is a dynamic laser reflection based, non-contact, real-time optical centration and angular measurement instrument, designed for aligning lenses in a multi-element optical system, such as a telescope, microscope objective or microlithography stepper. The LAS's optical module provides strong, clear reflections by which the user can easily measure and record sub-micron Total Indicated Runout (TIR) for spheric, aspheric, parabolic, cylindric, coated, or uncoated optics with radius of curvatures from 2.0mm to infinity, without changing objectives.