Alignment and integration of ASSIST: A test bench for VLT adaptive optics facility

摘要

ASSIST, The Adaptive Secondary Setup and Instrument STimulator, is being developed to provide a testing facility for the ESO Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF). It will allow the off-telescope testing of three elements of the VLT AOF; the Deformable Secondary Mirror (DSM) and the AO systems for MUSE and HAWK-I (GALACSI and GRAAL). The core of ASSIST consists of a 2-mirror setup (AM1-AM2) allowing the on-axis test of the DSM in interferometric mode. However, during the initial stages of ASSIST integration, DSM would not be present. This makes the task of aligning AM1-AM2 to within an accuracy of 0.05mm/l arcmin rather challenging. A novel technique known as Shack-Hartmann method has been developed and tested in the lab for this purpose. A Shack Hartmann wavefront sensor will be used to measure the mis-alignment between AM1-AM2 by recording the coma and astigmatism in the presence of large spherical aberration introduced because of tilt/decenter of AM2 with respect to AMI. Thereafter, 20 optical components including lenses, flat mirrors and beam-splitter cubes divided into five sub-assemblies should be aligned to AM1-AM2-DSM axis which ultimately passes through the mechanical axis of large AMOS rotator.