Point Source Microscope (PSM)

A complete, self-contained Portable Metrology System 

The Point Source Microscope (PSM) comes as a complete system ready to use as soon as the computer boots. The PSMAlign, LabView based, software is easy to use and the source code is available.

A Swiss army knife for your lab

Nearly as precise as an interferometer, yet far more flexible and easy to use due to its small size, light weight and powerful software.

Easy System Alignment

Optical alignment means positioning optically significant features like centres of curvatures and foci precisely where the optical design specifies.

The PSM enables this process by detecting and locating these optical features on the micrometer level and then relating them to mechanical fixtures, datums and features such as steel balls.

The PSM bridges the gap between optically significant features that cannot be mechanically probed and mechanical hardware such as bores, seats and mounts that can be located by conventional mechanical means.

Asphere Alignment

The PSM is also valuable for aligning aspheres and off-axis aspheres by using the aberrations aspheres produce when they are misaligned.

The PSM sees the reflected or transmitted Star image produced by the optical element or system in real time so there is optimum visual feedback as adjustments in alignment are made.

Since the PSM is sensitive to wavefront errors of as little as 8th wave rapid adjustment is made to near perfect alignment as witnessed by a symmetric image viewed going through focus.

Other Optical Metrology Uses

In addition to its use for alignment, the PSM is useful for incoming inspection for radius of curvature, focal length, figure errors larger than 8th wave and centering errors.

Used as an autocollimator by removing the objective lens, the wedge in windows and parallelism of prism faces can be measured with 1 arc second precision. The small beam size makes it particularly useful for small prisms.

Note on Using PSM with other light sources

Optical Perspectives Groups are often asked if the PSM can be used at wavelengths other than the standard internal laser diode and LED sources at 635 nm. The answer is definitely yes by coupling in an external fiber feed light source.

The PSM performs to original specifications all the way from 405 to 1080 nm without any modification.

This makes the PSM useful for aligning laser diode sources to other components in an optical system, for example. The useful spectral range for the PSM may be even greater, we simply have not tried over an even broader range.

A complete, self-contained Portable Metrology System

The PSM comes as a complete system ready to use as soon as the computer boots. The PSMAlign, LabView based, software is easy to use and the source code is available.

The centroid data is available for external feedback to other systems or the centroid data can be stored for later use.

Full field video microscope images and point source Star images can be saved in png format for later analysis and use.