Related papers: Membrane Space Telescope: Active Surface Control w…
The need for both high quality images and lightweight structures is one of the main drivers in space telescope design. An efficient wavefront control system will become mandatory in future large observatories, retaining performance while…
Adaptive optics (AO) offers an opportunity to stabilize an image and maximize the spatial resolution achievable by ground based telescopes by removing the distortions due to the atmosphere. Typically, the deformable mirror in an AO system…
In the development of space-based large telescope systems, having the capability to perform active optics correction allows correcting wavefront aberrations caused by thermal perturbations so as to achieve diffraction-limited performance…
The capability of the adaptive optics to correct for the segmentation error is analyzed in terms of the residual wavefront RMS and the power spectral density of the phase. The analytical model and the end-to-end simulation give…
One of the main design goals of the MAGIC telescopes is the very fast repositioning in case of Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) alarms, implying a low weight of the telescope dish. This is accomplished by using a space frame made of carbon fiber epoxy…
Active optics is defined as the control of the shape and the alignment of the components of an optical system at low temporal frequencies. For modern large telescopes with flexible monolithic or segmented primary mirrors and also flexible…
Optical beams and starlight distorted by atmospheric turbulence can be corrected with adaptive optics systems to enable efficient coupling into single-mode fibers. Deformable mirrors, used to flatten the wavefront in astronomical…
The latest high-performance telescopes for deep space observation employ very large primary mirrors that are made of smaller segments, like the JWST which employs monolithic beryllium hexagonal segments. A very promising development stage…
In this paper, we present the proof of concept of a very fast adaptive glass membrane lens with a large aperture/diameter ratio, spherical aberration correction and integrated actuation. The membrane is directly deformed using two piezo…
Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology can provide for deformable mirrors (DMs) with excellent performance within a favorable economy of scale. Large MEMS-based astronomical adaptive optics (AO) systems such as the Gemini Planet…
High-Performance Adaptive Optics systems are rapidly spreading as useful applications in the fields of astronomy, ophthalmology, and telecommunications. This technology is critical to enable coronagraphic direct imaging of exoplanets…
Adaptive (or deformable) mirrors are widely used as wavefront correctors in adaptive optics systems. The optical calibration of an adaptive mirror is a fundamental step during its life-cycle: the process is in facts required to compute a…
Optics for future X-ray telescopes will be characterized by very large aperture and focal length, and will be made of lightweight materials like glass or plastic in order to keep the total mass within acceptable limits. Optics based on thin…
Mirrors are a subset of optical components essential for the success of current and future space missions. Most of the telescopes for space programs ranging from Earth Observation to Astrophysics and covering all the electromagnetic…
Reflective membrane mirrors provide a lightweight, low-cost alternative to traditional optics for next-generation large-aperture telescopes, but their non-rigid, thin structure poses challenges for surface metrology. We present a…
First multi-conjugate adaptive-optical (MCAO) systems are currently being installed on solar telescopes. The aim of these systems is to increase the corrected field-of-view with respect to conventional adaptive optics. However, this first…
This paper describes a concept for the high-accuracy absolute calibration of the instrumental polarization introduced by the primary mirror of a large-aperture telescope. This procedure requires a small aperture with polarization…
Deformable Mirrors (DMs) have wide applications ranging from astronomical imaging to laser communications and vision science. However, they often require bulky multi-channel cables for delivering high power to their drive actuators. A low…
The spaceborne laser emission telescope is a core and critical component of the space gravitational wave detection system.Compared with ground-based telescopes, the on-orbit space environment is more complex and harsh, presenting higher…
The ability to control resonant properties of individual metamolecule in a metamaterial structure will offer an ultimate freedom for dynamically shaping wavefronts of electromagnetic radiation for applications such as variable aberration…