Tabletop alignment using a Bessel beam and an autostigmatic microscope

A method of optical alignment is outlined in theory and simulation that uses two optical indicators to establish an axis of a lens or optical system. The indicators used for alignment are a transmitted Bessel beam and the reflection from a center of curvature in the lens or optical system. When both indicators are centered in the detector the optical axis of the lens is coaxial with the Bessel beam that was aligned to the detector prior to the insertion of the lens.