Effective optical system assembly by ultra-precise manufactured references

As demonstrated in the present work, exact manufactured references play a crucial role in order to effectively assemble high-quality optical systems. Based on the experience of alignment turning of spherical and aspherical lenses, the approach can be transferred to non-rotational symmetric elements like prisms, active components (e.g. laser diodes), and freeform mirrors. Depending on the complexity of the optical component, on-machine metrology or specific measurement setups have to be used to determine the position and orientation of the references with respect to the optical function. The resulting correction data is taken into account of the machining process. The following correction cycle realizes mounting and metrology references down to submicron precision with diamond machining techniques. This approach allows for a predictable and passive system assembly of demanding optical systems and even freeform arrangements. Different machining setups as well as the corre sponding metrology approaches are shown. Results are given for representative components. The effectivity of the approach is discussed on example of a Snap-together freeform mirror system.