Adaptive optics center of excellence for national security

摘要

This paper provides an overview of research at the Adaptive Optics Center of Excellence for national security (AOCoE) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). The Center was established in 2011 with the sponsorship of the Office of Naval Research, National Reconnaissance Office, and Air Force research Laboratory. Research is in two areas: Segmented Mirror telescope (SMT) for imaging satellites and High Energy Laser Beam Control. SMT consists of a 3 meter diameter telescope with six segments and each segment has actuators for surface control and segment alignment. SMT research areas include developing improved techniques for surface control and segment alignment, and reduction in segment vibration by using tuned mass dampers. Research is also performed in adding a deformable mirror into the SMT optical path to correct for residual beam aberration not corrected by the primary mirror actuators. For high energy laser beam control the research areas are acquisition, tracking, and pointing, optical beam jitter control, and application of adaptive optics for correcting beam aberration due to air turbulence. The current focus is on adaptive optics for deep turbulence.