A new method for measuring the distortions that light undergoes in optical systems using holograms was developed in the Laboratory of Photonics and Optical Information Processing of the Institute for Laser and Plasma Technologies (LaPlas) of the MEPhI together with colleagues from the E. Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Р.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Any optical device not only passes a light flux through itself, but also introduces undesirable aberrations into it. In some cases, these distortions can be neglected, but where the finest measurements depend on an optical device (for example, in astronomy or optical calculations), the aberrations that occur in the optical system must be measured and, if possible, compensated.

According to a researcher at the Laboratory of Photonics and Optical Information Processing of the MEPhI, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Evgeny Zlokazov, a feature of the proposed innovative method is that computer-synthesized holograms are used to evaluate optical aberrations. A beam of light scatters, or, as the scientists say, diffracts as it passes through a hologram on a screen. By evaluating the nature of this scattering and comparing it with the scattering of a reference (that is, not passed through a telescope) laser beam, one can judge the nature of the aberrations and take measures to correct them.

At present, scientists have already created a prototype of a new device called "Holographic wavefront sensor with a controlled phase modulator."

The project is supported by the Priority 2030 program.