Adaptive Hartmann–Shack Wavefront Sensor

In this work, an adaptive Hartmann–Shack wavefront sensor (AHSS) is proposed, designed, and evaluated. This sensor allows for the modification in the dynamic range of wavefront aberration measurement, defined as the range between the minimum and maximum aberration value that can be measured with the sensor. This capability makes it suitable for studying optical aberrations in both objective systems and the human eye. AHSS consists of sixteen phase profiles corresponding to microlens arrays designed to be projected (one at a time) onto a spatial light modulator (SLM). In each design, the microlens size and focal distance parameters were varied. A calibration process was conducted, and aberration measurements were made in both artificial and real eyes. The results demonstrate good correspondence between the measurements with the AHSS and a conventional Hartmann–Shack sensor, which uses an actual refractive microlens array with fixed size and focal length parameters, proving their feasibility for measuring optical aberrations. The AHSS opens up possibilities for measurements in eyes with special characteristics, such as high aberrations, and enables the implementation of active optics aberration correction systems without the need for an additional refractive (physically lensed) wavefront sensor.