DESIGN METHOD OF AN ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE WITH REDUCED SENSITIVITY TO MISALIGNMENT

Approximate formulas are derived for the axial coma resulting from tilt and decenter of a surface and for the spherical aberration resulting from a change in its axial position. These expressions include terms that represent aberrations induced by the subsystem preceding the surface in addition to other terms that are intrinsic contributions from the misaligned surface itself. This separation of the terms gives a simple method of designing a system that is insensitive to a misalignment at a given surface. The method is illustrated by applying it to a two-mirror astronomical telescope with corrector. Two examples are given-one for tilt and the other for despace. In both examples an appreciable reduction in the sensitivity is obtained. The limitations of these solutions and the problem of simultaneous correction for two types of misalignment are examined.