Adaptive optics for array telescopes using piston-and-tilt wave-front sensing
- 1 October 1992
- journal article
- Published by Optica Publishing Group in Applied Optics
- Vol. 31 (28) , 6036-6046
- https://doi.org/10.1364/ao.31.006036
Abstract
A near-infrared adaptive optics system operating at ≈50 Hz has been used to control phase errors adaptively between two mirrors of the Multiple Mirror Telescope by stabilizing the position of the interference fringe in the combined unresolved far-field image. The resultant integrated images have angular resolutions of better than 0.1 arcsec and fringe contrasts of > 0.6. Measurements of wave-front tilt have confirmed the wavelength independence of image motion. These results show that interferometric sensing of phase errors, when combined with a system for sensing the wave-front tilt of the individual telescopes, will provide a means of achieving a stable diffraction-limited focus with segmented telescopes or arrays of telescopes.Keywords
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