Related papers: A 5kHz modulator for pyramid wavefront sensors
We measure the motional fluctuations of a micromechanical mirror using a Michelson interferometer, and demonstrate its interferometric stability. The position stability of the micromirror is dominated by the thermal mechanical noise of the…
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…
Millimeter-wave multi-input multi-output (mm-Wave MIMO) systems are one of the candidate schemes for 5G wireless standardization efforts. In this context, the main contributions of this article are three-fold. 1) We describe parallel sets…
Intensity modulators are an essential component in optics for controlling free-space beams. Many applications require the intensity of a free-space beam to be modulated at a single frequency, including wide-field lock-in detection for…
The MagAO-X instrument is an upgrade of the Magellan AO system that will introduce extreme adaptive optics capabilities for high-contrast imaging at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. A central component of this system is a…
A shearing interferometer is presented which uses polarization control to shear the wavefront and to modulate the interference pattern. The shear is generated by spatial walk-off in a birefringent crystal. By adjusting the orientation of…
We consider the mathematical background of the wavefront sensor type that is widely used in Adaptive Optics systems for astronomy, microscopy, and ophthalmology. The theoretical analysis of the pyramid sensor forward operators presented in…
The aberrations induced by the sample and/or by the sample holder limit the resolution of optical microscopes. Wavefront correction can be achieved using a deformable mirror with wavefront sensorless optimization algorithms but, despite the…
The development and characterisation of a piezoelectric actuated high-frequency MEMS scanning mirror with on-chip frequency tuning capability is reported. The resonant scanner operates at frequencies in excess of 140 kHz, generating scan…
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…
The MagAO-X instrument is a new extreme adaptive optics system for high-contrast imaging at visible and near-infrared wavelengths on the Magellan Clay Telescope. A central component of this system is a 2040-actuator microelectromechanical…
MAPS, MMT Adaptive optics exoPlanet characterization System, is the upgrade of legacy 6.5m MMT adaptive optics system. It is an NSF MSIP-funded project that includes (i) refurbishing of the MMT Adaptive Secondary Mirror (ASM), (ii) new high…
We present the design and fabrication of a miniaturized array of piezoelectrically actuated high speed Fresnel mirrors with individual mirror control. These Fresnel mirrors can be used to generate propagation invariant and self-healing…
Stress-optic modulators are emerging as a necessary building block of photonic integrated circuits tasked with controlling and manipulating classical and quantum optical systems. While photonic platforms such as lithium niobate and silicon…
Front-end polarization modulation enables improved polarization measurement stability by modulating the targeted signal above the low-frequency $1/f$ drifts associated with atmospheric and instrumental instabilities and diminishes the…
The next generation of giant ground and space telescopes will have the light-collecting power to detect and characterize potentially habitable terrestrial exoplanets using high-contrast imaging for the first time. This will only be…
Electro-optic (EO) modulators rely on interaction of optical and electrical signals with second-order nonlinear media. For the optical signal, this interaction can be strongly enhanced by using dielectric slot-waveguide structures that…
We present the research status of a deformable mirror made of a magnetic liquid whose surface is actuated by a triangular array of small current carrying coils. We demonstrate that the mirror can correct a 11 microns low order aberrated…
Free-space electro-optic (EO) modulators operating at gigahertz and beyond are attractive for a wide range of emerging applications, including high-speed imaging, free-space optical communication, microwave photonics, and diffractive…
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…