Related papers: The focal-plane assisted pyramid wavefront sensor:…
Adaptive optics (AO) is critical in astronomy, optical communications and remote sensing to deal with the rapid blurring caused by the Earth's turbulent atmosphere. But current AO systems are limited by their wavefront sensors, which need…
This paper introduces a novel wavefront sensing approach that relies on the Fourier analysis of a single conventional direct image. In the high Strehl ratio regime, the relation between the phase measured in the Fourier plane and the…
Almost all current and future high-contrast imaging instruments will use a Pyramid wavefront sensor (PWFS) as a primary or secondary wavefront sensor. The main issue with the PWFS is its nonlinear response to large phase aberrations,…
Path-length diversity methods may be used for adaptive optics (AO) systems to retrieve phase and amplitude information by measuring intensity across multiple planes. Observations that rely on free-space propagation, such as the nonlinear…
Advanced wavefront sensors (WFS) are essential for enabling new science cases for telescopes that utilize adaptive optics (AO) systems. While complex field WFS -- those that estimate the electric field phase and amplitude through…
High quality, repeatable point-spread functions are important for science cases like direct exoplanet imaging, high-precision astrometry, and high-resolution spectroscopy of exoplanets. For such demanding applications, the initial on-sky…
The photonic lantern (PL) is a tapered waveguide that can efficiently couple light into multiple single-mode optical fibers. Such devices are currently being considered for a number of tasks, including the coupling of telescopes and…
REDWOODS on ShaneAO at Lick Observatory implements a second-stage, 3-sided reflective pyramid wavefront sensor (PWFS), which, under low-light conditions, offers an improved signal-to-noise ratio for deformable mirror commands to correct…
Over the past fifty years, wavefront sensing technology has continuously evolved from basic techniques to high-precision systems, serving as a core methodology in adaptive optics (AO). Beyond traditional wavefront retrieval methods based on…
Accurate and robust wavefront reconstruction methods for pyramid wavefront sensors are in high demand as these sensors are planned to be part of many instruments currently under development for ground based telescopes. The pyramid sensor…
The MMTO Adaptive optics exoPlanet characterization System (MAPS) is an ongoing upgrade to the 6.5-meter MMT Observatory on Mount Hopkins in Arizona. MAPS includes an upgraded adaptive secondary mirror (ASM), upgrades to the ARIES…
High-contrast imaging provided by a coronagraph is critical for the direction imaging of the Earth-like planet orbiting its bright parent star. A major limitation for such direct imaging is the speckle noise that is induced from the…
The next generation of Extremely Large Telescope (24 to 39m diameter) will suffer from the so-called "pupil fragmentation" problem. Due to their pupil shape complexity (segmentation, large spiders ...), some differential pistons may appear…
Direct detection of exoplanets around nearby stars requires advanced Adaptive Optics (AO) systems. High order systems are needed to reach high Strehl Ratio (SR) in near infrared and optical wavelengths on future Giant Segmented Mirror…
Several telescopes include large Deformable Mirrors (DM) located directly inside the telescope. These adaptive telescopes trigger new constraints for the calibration of the Adaptive Optics (AO) systems as they usually offer no access to an…
Laser guide stars (LGS) are used in many adaptive optics systems to extend sky coverage. The most common wavefront sensor used in combination with a LGS is a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWFS). The Shack-Hartmann has a major…
Adaptive optics systems correct atmospheric turbulence in real time. Most adaptive optics systems used routinely correct in the near infrared, at wavelengths greater than 1 micron. MagAO- X is a new extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) instrument…
Laser guide stars (LGSs) have been deployed for the last 20-30 years in ground-based astronomical telescopes to overcome the limited sky coverage of classical adaptive optics (AO) systems. Unfortunately, slow altitude drifts of the sodium…
An image-based technique for measuring the complex field in the pupil of an imaging system is presented. Two point source images, one with a small modification introduced in the pupil, are combined using a simple and non-iterative…
Wave front sensing of the surface of equal phase for a propagating electromagnetic wave is a vital technology in fields ranging from real time adaptive optics, to high accuracy metrology, to medical optometry. We have developed a new method…