Analysis of imaging properties of a vibrating thin flat mirror.

Thin flat mirrors are often used in designing various optical measurement systems. Such mirrors are generally deformed by environmental conditions during measurements. A detailed theory of deformation of a thin flat mirror that oscillates harmonically in the direction of the normal to its surface is introduced in our work. The mirror is treated as a vibrating membrane, and the time-dependent effect of the mirror deformation on the properties of reflected light is studied. A relation is derived for a dynamic wave aberration. On the basis of this relation, calculation of the Strehl definition of the deformed mirror is performed both by exact integration and by approximation. The results obtained can be used for analysis of the influence of mechanical vibrations on the accuracy of optical measurement systems in various practical applications where thin flat mirrors are used.