Abstract

Image evaluation for optical components in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) having subarcsecond resolution has been developed at the Goddard Space Flight Center's Diffraction Grating Evaluation Facility (DGEF)¹ using raster scan image dissection. A microscopic, rectangular aperture² is discretely positioned along scan lines throughout an image area and the light passing through it is detected to build up an image irradiance map. The technique simulates a "one pixel at a time," VUV-sensitive, photon counting, area array detector with high dynamic range and pixel sizes down to below 2 um. Image statistics provide encircled energy and angular resolution profiles for imaging systems in the VUV. Comparisons of raytrace data and experimentally obtained images are presented.

© 1991 Optical Society of America