Absolute modal wavefront reconstruction in a rotational shearing interferometer by iterative optimization

We propose an iterative optimization approach for wavefront reconstruction in a rotational shearing interferometer based on Zernike polynomials. Two incorrect shearing amounts are optimized simultaneously, enabling the absolute reconstruction of wavefronts with high uniformity in the root mean square (RMS). Simulations under noisy conditions show that the reconstruction error, in terms of peak-to-valley (PV) and RMS, remains within the mu lambda range. The approach was experimentally validated by identifying asymmetric aberrations in an imperfectly collimated light source, showing strong agreement with the wavefront obtained from a Shack-Hartmann sensor. (c) 2025 Optica Publishing Group. All rights, including for similar technologies, are reserved.