HASO LIFT: The Next Generation of High Resolution Wavefront Sensors

Since 1996, Imagine Optic has been an industry leader in the development of  high-end optical metrology instrumentation, best known for their HASO line of Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors. In early 2021, they launched the HASO LIFT series of high-resolution wavefront sensors with a 16-fold phase-point resolution enhancement. 

The Shack Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWFS) was the first modern wavefront sensor invented for applications in which a fast and absolute wavefront measurement was needed. Roland Shack is credited for developing this first modern wavefront sensor in the 70’s, which has had great success for applications in Astronomy, UHIL and retinal imaging. Today, it is still the wavefront sensor of reference with its main advantages being: 

• Insensitivity to vibrations
• Ability to measure large amplitude aberrations
• Achromaticity 

The development of high contrast imaging for astronomy created the need to have wavefront sensors with a higher resolution than the classic SHWFS. Over the past decade, several high resolution WFS have been developed and perfected for this specific application (e.g pyramidal wavefront sensors) 

The technology behind the HASO LIFT, which was developed at the ONERA Institute, is aimed at overcoming the intrinsic limitation in terms of spatial resolution of the SHWFS. 

This approach had not been implemented in astronomy applications after being validated as a concept, but Imagine Optic believed in this method to improve the SHWFS for applications in Optical Metrology and laser diagnostics. After several years of development, IO released the LIFT series in 2021, combining the best in terms of calibration, performance, and high resolution (x16) 

The LIFT technology combines Shack-Hartmann technology with a phase retrieval algorithm applied at a microlens scale. The two products currently in the HASO LIFT line include the HASO LIFT 272 and the HASO LIFT 680 which can reach 272 x 200 and 680 x 504 phase-point resolution, respectively. 

Imagine Optic will soon release the HASO SWIR LIFT (date TBD) and provide improved spatial resolution in the 1050-1700 nm spectral band. 

The LIFT provides an excellent tool for challenging applications, including high spatial sampling frequency, very large dynamic range, freeform optics characterization, parabolic mirror characterization, high spatial frequency aberrations and more…

In the example below, you can clearly see the improvement with the LIFT algorithm when inspecting a glass screen protector. 

All Imagine Optic wavefront sensors come with WaveView4, the most advanced measurement and analysis software, which includes over 150 features and tools to accommodate a wide range of highly demanding applications. 

The LIFT is compatible with the Optical Engineer Companion, a complete, and fully customizable turnkey metrology system.
For the full line of Imagine Optic wavefront sensors, click HERE.