Merging Wavefront Corrective Elements for Adaptive Optics Applications: Experimental Results

摘要

In most adaptive optics systems, there are two elements that control wavefront correction. These are a tip/tilt platform and a deformable mirror. The tip/tilt platform can correct the lower order aberrations like piston, tip and tilt. The deformable mirror can correct the higher order aberrations like defocus, astigmatism, etc. By mounting the deformable mirror onto the tip/tilt platform, one corrective element is now used in the system, rather than two. This is made possible by the use of a lightweight MEMS deformable mirror, as traditional deformable mirrors tend to be quite large and bulky. Other advantages are that there is less overall optics and a simpler alignment process needed with this configuration.