Blog

Learn what a point source microscope is, how it differs from interferometers, and when to use this precision optical alignment tool in engineering applications.

Quantum computing companies face a brutal optical alignment challenge. Misalignment in a camera lens blurs your photos. Misalignment in a quantum system destroys qubit coherence and crashes gate fidelity below usable levels. The problem isn’t just tighter tolerances. It’s that quantum systems are spread across optical tables where every element needs independent adjustment in five […]

Since it’s Women’s History month, a question from my lawyer (a woman) about why Tucson is called “Optics Valley” reminded me of two influential women who are largely responsible for that legacy. The first is Lavinia Steward of Oracle, Arizona, who made the largest private donation to the University of Arizona up to that time […]

Practical Optical Alignment with the Point Source Microscope  In optical design, the concept of an optical axis is basic, it exists naturally within the description  of the system. In the laboratory, however, the optical axis does not exist until it is physically  established through measurements and alignment. Optical components must be positioned and  oriented relative […]

We recently began assembling a 10.6 µm interferometer using a CO₂ laser as the coherent light source. Because most CO₂ lasers are designed for materials processing, their output power is far greater than is practical—or safe—for interferometry. Even after inserting a wire-grid polarizer immediately after the laser, our initial alignment attempts resulted in a burned […]

I was never satisfied with my explanation of lens centering, so this Chapter is another try. Start with a diagram that is familiar to anyone who has some familiarity with optics, the diagram that explains first order image formation as in Fig. 1. Fig. 1 A generic optical system with the two rays that define […]