A 941 channel, 1500 Hertz frame rate athptive optical (AO) system has been installed and tested in the coudé path of the 3.5m telescope at the USAF Research Laboratoiy Starfire Optical Range. This paper describes the design and measured perfonnance ofthe principal components comprising this system and presents sample results from the first closed-loop tests ofthe system on stars and an artificial source simulator.
Three advanced Deformable Mirrors were tested as part of the Air Force Research Laboratory's athptive optics program. Two of these mirrors were purchased by the Air Force Research Laboratory for use at the Starfire Optical Range (SOR). One of these, a 941-channel mirror, made by Xinetics under subcontract to Hughes Danbury Optical Systems, is currently in use in the adaptive optics system of the SOR 3.5 m telescope. The other, a 577-channel mirror, was refurbished by ITEK from the Mid-Scale Deformable Mirror. The third mirror, with 349 actuators, was made by Xinetics as a demonsiration of a new actuator bonding technology. For each mirror, the uniformity of the actuator gain was measured using phase-modulating interferometry. These measurements were used to flatten the mirrors and to apply known Zernike modes. Results presented will include actuator performance statistics and mirror figure accuracy for various commanded figures.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.