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Revolution in Adaptive Optics |
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Adaptive
Optics (AO) refers to
optical systems that adapt to compensate for optical effects introduced
by the medium between an object and its image. The initial technology
was originally developed by the military for surveillance applications.
Astronomers, have used AO in recent years to remove atmospheric
interference from images enabling a level of clarity from ground
telescopes rivaling that provided by the Hubble Space Telescope.
This technology holds great promise for other fields, such as vision
science, which encounter similar effects due to high order spatial
aberrations and additional temporal changes. AO has been prohibitively
expensive for mainstream use, however, until the development of
Iris AO's proprietary MEMS-based DM technology.
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Iris AO DM
and package
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Segmented Mirrors
Iris AO has overcome the
inherent limitations of traditional and other MEMS-based
AO
designs by pursuing a completely new manufacturing and design
approach. Instead of using a single mirror, the deformable
mirror (DM) is divided into segments, with each segment
mounted on an independent suspension and arranged in a
hexagonal
array.
The segmentation is the key to achieving far larger stroke
and higher spatial frequency than existing systems. High-order
correction is possible because the segments can be independently
positioned without affecting the positions of adjacent
segments.
A scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the 37 segment DM
is shown on the right. The inscribed diameter of the array
is 3.5mm.
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Simple Design
The DM design is such that
its operating parameters, namely the stroke and speed of
response,
can be adjusted depending on the application. Due to the
fact that each segment has individual tip, tilt and piston
motion,
the fit to any incoming wavefront is better than for a conventional
continous surface DM. The segmented nature allows fitting
of discontinous wavefronts in addition.
The use of the thick, rigid,
top mirror surface gives much improved performance over
thin
film techniques. Iris AO is able to acheive a per segment
flatness as good as 2 and typcially better than 20 nm rms.
In addition, we can deposit a range of optical materials
that
can be
optimized
to your
specific requirements.
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Iris AO's segmented DM
approach is inherently scalable to create ever more powerful
arrays
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Advanced Manufacturing.
The Iris AO manufacturing
process was designed from the outset to enable extremely large
stroke, low cost, small size and scalability to meet of imaging
applications. Contact us for more
information.
In addition to the DM technology,
Iris AO manufactures calibrated high-voltage high-channel-count
drive electronics, AO controllers, and development systems.
>>More information
about Iris AO products and services |
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Sealable Approach.
Segmented mirrors also facilitate
rapid prototyping and creation of ever more powerful systems
to meet a variety of needs. Partner companies that take advantage
of our unique blend of AO and system design expertise are well-positioned
to leverage this powerful technology across multiple applications
and across multiple corporate divisions.
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