Abstract: An interferometer for the measurement of a surface or an optical thickness of an optically smooth test object is provided, wherein the interferometer is configured to illuminate the optically smooth test object simultaneously with a plurality of object waves, which have different wavelengths from one another, and to superimpose the object waves 10 deformed by the illuminated test object onto coherent reference waves on an image capture device, and to spectrally decompose the interferograms resulting from the superposition into wavelength-specific partial interferograms.

Abstract: A method of fabricating an imaging system as well as to a corresponding imaging system. The method includes providing a substrate; and forming, by means of a 3D-printing technique, a 3D structure on the substrate, wherein the forming of the 3D structure includes forming a stack of at least two diffractive optical elements in a single printing step.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and an assembly for chromatic confocal spectral interferometery, in particular also for spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) using multi-spectral light. A multiple (e.g. two, three, four, etc.) axial splitting of foci in the interferometric object arm is performed using a multifocal (e.g. bifocal, trifocal, quattro-focal, etc.) optical component, forming thereby at least two, three or even several groups of chromatically split foci in the depth direction. The multifocal optical component is made of a diffractive optical element (712) and a Schwarzschild objective (5). At least two, three, four or even more differently colored foci of different groups of foci coincide in at least one confocal point in the object space of the setup.

Abstract: The present invention relayes to a method and an assembly for chromatic confocal spectral interferometery, in particular also for spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) using multi-spectral light. A multiple (e.g. two, three, four, etc.) axial splitting of foci in the interferometric object arm is performed using a multifocal (e.g. bifocal, trifocal, quattro-focal, etc.) optical component, forming thereby at least two, three or even several groups of chromatically split foci in the depth direction. The multifocal optical component is made of a diffractive optical element (712) and a Schwarzschild objective (5). At least two, three, four or even more differently colored foci of different groups of foci coincide in at least one confocal point in the object space of the setup.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of fabricating an imaging system as well as to a corresponding imaging system. The method comprises the steps of:—providing a substrate;—forming, by means of a 3D-printing technique, a 3D-structure (100) on the substrate, wherein the forming of the 3D-structure (100) comprises forming a stack of at least two diffractive optical elements (10) in a single printing step.

Abstract: An interferometer for areally measuring an optically smooth surface is presented, including means for illuminating a surface region with a plurality of discrete object waves from different directions and comprising means which, on a detector, superimpose object waves reflected at the surface onto a reference wave that is coherent with a plurality of object waves in order to form an interferogram. The interferometer is distinguished by virtue of it being configured to illuminate the surface with a plurality of object waves at the same time and produce the reference wave by way of a Fizeau beam splitter plate or a Fizeau objective, and by virtue of the interferometer including an interferometer stop that is arranged in the beam path upstream of the detector, and imaging optics, wherein the interferometer stop is situated within, or slightly outside of, the Fourier plane of the imaging optics and said interferometer stop filters the object waves reflected by the surface.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for calibrating a measuring device, comprising the following steps: moving, with finite accuracy and thus with positioning error, to various points that lie in a testing volume of the measuring device and that can be characterized by spatial and/or angular coordinates, generating measurement signals at the respective points, and determining parameters of a computing model of the measuring device from the measurement signals and the spatial and/or angular coordinates. The method is characterized in that a coordinate system to which the coordinates of the points of the testing volume relate is defined from points moved to with error, by associating predetermined coordinate values with exactly six coordinates of three points.

Abstract: An interferometer for areally measuring an optically smooth surface is presented, including means for illuminating a surface region with a plurality of discrete object waves from different directions and comprising means which, on a detector, superimpose object waves reflected at the surface onto a reference wave that is coherent with a plurality of object waves in order to form an interferogram. The interferometer is distinguished by virtue of it being configured to illuminate the surface with a plurality of object waves at the same time and produce the reference wave by way of a Fizeau beam splitter plate or a Fizeau objective, and by virtue of the interferometer including an interferometer stop that is arranged in the beam path upstream of the detector, and imaging optics, wherein the interferometer stop is situated within, or slightly outside of, the Fourier plane of the imaging optics and said interferometer stop filters the object waves reflected by the surface.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a measuring probe and an arrangement for measuring spectral absorption, preferably in the infrared. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for spectroscopically measuring absorption. The measuring probe may comprise a cutting apparatus configured to cut a slice or respectively flap off of a sample to be measured; a measuring gap configured to accommodate the sample slice; an optical window element for coupling measuring light into, or respectively out of the measuring gap; and an end reflector designed and arranged to reflect the measuring light propagated through the measuring gap back into the measuring gap. The arrangement for measuring spectral absorption may comprise the measuring probe, a light source and an apparatus for the spectral analysis of the measuring light coupled out of the measuring gap.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for calibrating a measuring device, comprising the following steps: moving, with finite accuracy and thus with positioning error, to various points that lie in a testing volume of the measuring device and that can be characterized by spatial and/or angular coordinates, generating measurement signals at the respective points, and determining parameters of a computing model of the measuring device from the measurement signals and the spatial and/or angular coordinates. The method is characterized in that a coordinate system to which the coordinates of the points of the testing volume relate is defined from points moved to with error, by associating predetermined coordinate values with exactly six coordinates of three points.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a measuring probe and an arrangement for measuring spectral absorption, preferably in the infrared. Furthermore, the present disclosure relates to a method for spectroscopically measuring absorption. In some embodiments, the measuring probe may comprise a cutting apparatus configured to cut a slice or respectively flap off of a sample to be measured; a measuring gap configured to accommodate the sample slice; an optical window element for coupling measuring light into, or respectively out of the measuring gap; and an end reflector designed and arranged to reflect the measuring light propagated through the measuring gap back into the measuring gap. The arrangement for measuring spectral absorption may comprise the measuring probe, a light source and an apparatus for the spectral analysis of the measuring light coupled out of the measuring gap.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and arrangement for short coherence holography for distance measurement, for profile detection and/or for 3D detection of one or more object elements and/or object areas and/or objects or for readout of holographic volume memories with a holographic interferometer and with at least one short coherence light source. For each optically detected object element in the hologram the holographic interferometer has an optical path difference clearly unequal to zero. At least one spectrally integrally detecting, rastered detector is arranged. The short coherence light source with frequency comb is designed with the optical delay length Y1. Detected holograms are digitally reconstructed. Relative distances of object elements are digitally calculated from the hologram reconstructions, so that a 3D point cloud of object elements and/or object areas and/or objects is produced.

Abstract: The invention relates to an improved encoding disk for an optical rotation angle sensor or a rotary encoder, an optical rotation sensor or rotary encoder comprising an improved encoding disk, and a method for optically correcting or compensating for an angle measuring error of a rotary encoder, in particular an angle measuring error which is contingent on a displacement or decentralization of the encoding disk. The encoding disk (20) comprises at least one measuring track (22) and at least one compensating track (24), wherein the measuring track (22) is in a first radial region of the encoding disk (20); and the compensating track (24) is centered with regard to the measuring track (22) on a second radial region of the encoding disk (20) so that the center of the measuring track (22) coincides with the center of the compensating track (24).

Abstract: The invention relates to an improved encoding disk for an optical rotation angle sensor or a rotary encoder, an optical rotation sensor or rotary encoder comprising an improved encoding disk, and a method for optically correcting or compensating for an angle measuring error of a rotary encoder, in particular an angle measuring error which is contingent on a displacement or decentralization of the encoding disk. The encoding disk (20) comprises at least one measuring track (22) and at least one compensating track (24), wherein the measuring track (22) is in a first radial region of the encoding disk (20); and the compensating track (24) is centered with regard to the measuring track (22) on a second radial region of the encoding disk (20) so that the center of the measuring track (22) coincides with the center of the compensating track (24).

Abstract: An interferometric confocal method and assembly for terabyte volume optical data memories couples two-beam spectral interferometry to chromatic confocal technology and permits a longitudinal splitting of foci in the memory volume, with the foci having limited diffraction. A spectrometer is located downstream of the interferometer with confocal discrimination in the beam path. A diffractive optical zone lens (DOZE) with a usage of the first diffraction order is introduced into the interferometric beam path to achieve longitudinal chromatic splitting. The interferometer can be a fiber-coupled interferometer with a retroreflector in the fiber-coupled reference arm and with wavelength-dependent optical path difference modification by dispersion or diffraction. The optical path difference in the interferometer is set so that easily detectable wavelets are formed from detectable interferograms by spectral analysis.

Abstract: An interferometric confocal method and assembly for terabyte volume optical data memories couples two-beam spectral interferometry to chromatic confocal technology and permits a longitudinal splitting of foci in the memory volume, with the foci having limited diffraction. A spectrometer is located downstream of the interferometer with confocal discrimination in the beam path. A diffractive optical zone lens (DOZE) with a usage of the first diffraction order is introduced into the interferometric beam path to achieve longitudinal chromatic splitting. The interferometer can be a fibre-coupled interferometer with a retroreflector in the fibre-coupled reference arm and with wavelength-dependent optical path difference modification by dispersion or diffraction. The optical path difference in the interferometer is set so that easily detectable wavelets are formed from detectable interferograms by spectral analysis.