DETERMINATION OF PHASE MODE COMPONENTS IN TERMS OF LOCAL WAVE-FRONT SLOPES - AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH

An analytical formulation that relates the modal expansion coefficient s of a given wave front to its local transverse phase derivatives is p roposed. The modal coefficients are calculated as a weighted integral over the wave-front slopes. The weighting functions for each mode are the components of a two-dimensional vector whose divergence equals the corresponding mode function. This approach is useful for analytical p hase reconstruction from the input data provided by shearing interfero meters or Hartmann-Shack wave-front sensors. Numerical results for a s imulated experiment in terms of a set of Zernike polynomials are given .