An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

An optical device, a modern version of the → Hartmann test, used for analyzing the wavefront of light. Theses sensors can be used to characterize the performance of optical systems. Moreover, they are increasingly used in real-time applications, such as
→ adaptive optics to remove the wavefront distortion before creating an image. It consists of a microlens array placed in front of a CCD array. A planar wavefront that is transmitted through a microlens array and imaged on the CCD array will form a regular pattern of bright spots. If, however, the wavefront is distorted, the light imaged on the CCD will consist of some regularly spaced spots mixed with displaced spots and missing spots. This information is used to calculate the shape of the wavefront that was incident on the microlens array.

See also: Named after the German astronomer Johannes Hartmann (1865-1936), who first developed the method, and R. V. Shack, who in the late 1960s replaced the
screen by a microlens array; → wavefront; → sensor.