Abstract

We propose a novel wavefront sensor and study its performance with an analytical formulation. The sensor has a polarizing point-diffraction beam splitter. Using transmitted and reflected beams, we can build a real-time point-diffraction interferometer with high precision and efficiency. Our analytical studies reveal that wavefront errors might be measured incorrectly and that less precise estimates of wavefronts appear as the pinhole radius $R_{\mathrm{pin}}$ is increased. An investigation of propagating uncertainties shows that the wavefront measurement can be calibrated by estimating the pinhole effects and the polarizing properties with a precision of a few percent. Based on these studies, $R_{\mathrm{pin}}$ should be smaller than half of the Airy disk for better performance.

© 2015 Optical Society of America

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