Abstract

The micropolish of optical surfaces of good quality can be characterized by measurement of the distribution of scattered light. Very often the surface defects are not isotropic but display preferred orientations that are translated into an anisotropy of the scattered light distribution. The total amount of light scattered by very high quality surfaces, coated or uncoated, scarcely exceeds a few hundred parts per million. The precise measurement of the distribution of the scattered light is always a task requiring great care and attention to detail.

© 1984 Optical Society of America