Simultaneous alignment of multiple optical axes in a multistage optical system using Hamiltonian algorithm

We achieve a fast alignment of optical axes that must be precisely positioned with multiple degrees of freedom during coupling between optical devices using the Hamiltonian algorithm. The Hamiltonian algorithm utilizes the mixing properties of the dynamical system and can efficiently search for the global minimum of the objective function in an optimization problem. Simulations show the effects of the mixing for a quick search for the global minimum, avoidance of trapping at the local minima, and robustness against disturbance. Our experiments show that using this algorithm, optical axes with multiple degrees of freedom can be aligned efficiently and several fibers can be aligned simultaneously. Therefore, it is confirmed that the time for completing alignment of many optical axes is greatly reduced. (C) 2001 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.