Playing With Hexagonal MLA

20-04-2021 #

Playing with hexagonal MLA #

We have procured a hexagonal MLA with characteristics that are near to what we need for the instrument. The plan is to gain experience with it.

We set-up a new test bench to simulate the light injection at the level of the telescope. It produces a ~ F/200 beam so that a 250 microns pitch MLA can map the ring at 2λ/d.

PSF
PSF obtained with the test bench, with surperimposed the MLA grid

First images after the MLA are very nice looking :

Alignment
if we focalize a microscope on the MLA surface from behing it is easier than expected to co align the PSF and the lenslet array

Alignment
An image of the focal plane after the MLA (satured)

Alignment
Zooming on the central micro lens PSF, things looks as expected