The Naval Research Laboratory MEM adaptive optics program

Sergio R. Restaino; Ty Martinez; Jonathan R. Andrews; Christopher C. Wilcox; Freddie Santiago; Don M. Payne

doi:10.1117/12.862449

1 September 2010 The Naval Research Laboratory MEM adaptive optics program

Sergio R. Restaino, Ty Martinez, Jonathan R. Andrews, Christopher C. Wilcox, Freddie Santiago, Don M. Payne

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7803, Adaptive X-Ray Optics; 78030F (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.862449
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Naval Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI) is the longest baseline interferometer operating at visible wavelengths in the world. The astronomical capabilities of such an instrument are being exploited and recent results will be presented. NPOI is also the largest optical telescope belonging to the US Department of Defense with a maximum baseline of 435 meter has a resolution that is approximately 181 times the resolution attainable by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and 118 times the resolution attainable by the Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS). It is also the only optical interferometer capable of recombining up to six apertures simultaneously. The NPOI is a sparse aperture and its sensitivity is limited by the size of the unit aperture, currently that size is 0.5 meters. In order to increase the overall sensitivity of the instrument a program was started to manufacture larger, 1.4 meter, ultra-light telescopes. The lightness of the telescopes requirement is due to the fact that telescopes have to be easily transportable in order to reconfigure the array. For this reason a program was started three years ago to investigate the feasibility of manufacturing Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) telescopes, including the optics. Furthermore, since the unit apertures are now much larger than r0 there is a need to compensate the aperture with adaptive optics (AO). Since the need for mobility of the telescopes, compact AO systems, based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS), have been developed. This paper will present the status of our adaptive optics system and some of the results attained so far with it.

Citation Download Citation

Sergio R. Restaino, Ty Martinez, Jonathan R. Andrews, Christopher C. Wilcox, Freddie Santiago, and Don M. Payne "The Naval Research Laboratory MEM adaptive optics program", Proc. SPIE 7803, Adaptive X-Ray Optics, 78030F (1 September 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.862449

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

;

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
9 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Adaptive optics

Telescopes

Microelectromechanical systems

Monochromatic aberrations

Spatial light modulators

Space telescopes

Atmospheric turbulence

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years