In astronomical imaging, the errors in the wave-front slope are a significant cause of aberrations in the detected image. We investigate how the slope can be estimated optimally using an intensity measurement of the propagated wave front. We show that the optimal location for detection of wave-front tilt is the focal plane, and we quantify the error in using defocused images, such as would be obtained from a curvature sensor, for estimating the wave-front tilt. The effect of using broadband light is also quantified.
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