Related papers: Focus diverse phase retrieval testbed development …
Continuous wavefront sensing benefits space observatories in on-orbit optical performance maintenance. To measure the phase of a wavefront, phase retrieval is an attractive technique as it uses multiple point spread function (PSF) images…
Wavefront sensing involves estimating the phase and intensity of light, enabling a wide range of imaging applications, from adaptive optics and astronomy to biomedical imaging. Since conventional image sensors can only measure the spatial…
Increasing interest in astronomical applications of non-linear curvature wavefront sensors for turbulence detection and correction makes it important to understand how best to handle the data they produce, particularly at low light levels.…
In astronomy and microscopy, distortions in the wavefront affect the dynamic range of a high contrast imaging system. These aberrations are either imposed by a turbulent medium such as the atmosphere, by static or thermal aberrations in the…
The James Webb Space Telescope is orders of magnitude more sensitive than any other facility across the near to mid-infrared wavelengths. Many approved programs take advantage of its highly stable point spread function (PSF) to directly…
A new wavefront sensing approach, derived from the successful curvature wavefront sensing concept but using a non-linear phase retrieval wavefront reconstruction scheme, is described. The non-linear curvature wavefront sensor (nlCWFS)…
An adaptive optics system with a single deformable mirror is being implemented on the THEMIS 90cm solar telescope. This system is designed to operate in the visible and is required to be as robust as possible in order to deliver the best…
We present a promising approach to the extremely fast sensing and correction of small wavefront errors in adaptive optics systems. As our algorithm's computational complexity is roughly proportional to the number of actuators, it is…
In ground-based astronomy, Adaptive Optics (AO) is a pivotal technique, engineered to correct wavefront phase distortions and thereby enhance the quality of the observed images. Integral to an AO system is the wavefront sensor (WFS), which…
The use of Wavefront Sensors (WFS) is nowadays fundamental in the field of instrumental optics. This paper discusses the principle of an original and recently proposed new class of WFS. Their principle consists in evaluating the slopes of…
We discuss the use of parametric phase-diverse phase retrieval as an in-situ high-fidelity wavefront measurement method to characterize and optimize the transmitted wavefront of a high-contrast coronagraphic instrument. We apply our method…
Optical aberrations prevent telescopes from reaching their theoretical diffraction limit. Once estimated, these aberrations can be compensated for using deformable mirrors in a closed loop. Focal plane wavefront sensing enables the…
Extreme wavefront correction is required for coronagraphs on future space telescopes to reach 1e-8 or better starlight suppression for the direct imaging and characterization of exoplanets in reflected light. Thus, a suite of wavefront…
This paper presents the basic principle and theoretical relationships of an original method allowing to retrieve the Wavefront Errors (WFE) of a ground or space-borne telescope when combining its main pupil with a second, decentered…
Direct imaging of exoplanets requires very high contrast levels, which are obtained using coronagraphs. But residual quasi-static aberrations create speckles in the focal plane downstream of the coronagraph which mask the planet. This…
The Zernike wavefront sensor (ZWFS) stands out as one of the most sensitive optical systems for measuring the phase of an incoming wavefront, reaching photon efficiencies close to the fundamental limit. This quality, combined with the fact…
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…
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…
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…
Commonly used wavefront sensors, the Shack Hartmann wavefront sensor and the pyramid wavefront sensor, for example, have large dynamic range or high sensitivity, trading one regime for the other. A new type of wavefront sensor is being…