Computer-aided optical alignment method

Interferometrically measured system wavefronts combined with a differential ray-traced lens model are used to determine alignment adjustments to a lens system. This is achieved by minimizing the difference between measured and ray-traced wavefronts by means of a damped least-squares method, without information regarding individual surface shapes or misalignment sources in the system. The accurate quantitive adjustments provided by the technique reduce the time needed to align lens systems, and even complicated systems can be aligned.