Holographic Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor based on the correlation peak displacement detection method for wavefront sensing with large dynamic range

A method to expand the dynamic range for a Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWFS) is proposed. An SHWFS consists of a microlens array and an image sensor, and it has been widely used to measure the wavefront aberration of a lightwave in various fields. However, a very large aberrated wave cannot be correctly measured due to the finite dynamic range that depends on the diameter of each microlens. The proposed method enables an SHWFS to measure wavefronts with larger aberrations by applying holography and pattern matching technologies. For measurement of a spherical wave, the proposed method is compared with a conventional one by numerical simulations and optical experiments. Their results confirm the performance of the proposed method.