3 research outputs found
MEMS practice, from the lab to the telescope
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 Imager are coming on-line soon. As MEMS DM end-users, we discuss our
decade of practice with the micromirrors, from inspecting and characterizing
devices to evaluating their performance in the lab. We also show MEMS wavefront
correction on-sky with the "Villages" AO system on a 1-m telescope, including
open-loop control and visible-light imaging. Our work demonstrates the maturity
of MEMS technology for astronomical adaptive optics.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figures, Invited Paper, SPIE Photonics West 201