Justification and implementation of the coordinate method among potentially possible precise methods for measuring angles between axes of small-angle beams

Abstract

A series of studies devoted to the theoretical justification and development of methods and tools for angular measurements based on the use of multiple sources of optical beams with a small angular aperture is continued. The source used in this study is a holographic prism: a fluorite single crystal with a system of superimposed holograms recorded in its bulk, which generates a series of diffracted small-angle beams in the form of a flat fan under illumination by a reference laser. This fan has a high spatial stability, including constancy of angles between any pair of fan beams in a wide range of external conditions. Based on the previously introduced notion of an effective beam axis, potential exact methods for measuring angles between fan beams are considered, and a coordinate method using a coordinate measuring machine and a CCD recorder is substantiated and implemented. The accuracy of the proposed method is analyzed. It is shown that its errors can potentially be reduced to a level of 1″ or even less.