STTR Phase I: Novel Holographic Wavefront Sensing Device Enabling Light Weight, Low Cost, Fast Adaptive Optics Systems

这一小型企业技术转让(STTR)第一阶段项目将决定一种新型全息波前传感设备的可行性。这种模式全息波前传感器的优点是它对入射波前进行光学处理，自动生成反馈信号的系数。这与其他方法形成对比，其他方法依赖于传统计算机在反馈之前执行处理器密集型波前扩展。通过使用全息光学处理，波前传感器可以在更快的时间尺度上运行，从而允许设备在强湍流区域或在极高分辨率、大口径系统中运行。其他优势包括降低了整体波前设备的尺寸、复杂性和成本，允许在给定的固定预算内提供更多的传感器、执行器和更大的闭环带宽。技术工作计划包括多通道波前传感装置的性能分析，多通道装置的实际测试和测量，检查主要问题和实用化障碍，以及完整的系统装置设计和可行性研究。极快、高度复杂(即大量传感器和执行器)的自适应光学系统将使各种应用受益。科学和政府应用包括卫星和航天器在湍流大气中的成像，以及在天文成像中补偿大气湍流。自适应光学也引起了人们的极大兴趣，用于将激光投射到大气层中，在数百公里外的目标上提供高度聚焦的光斑。类似的应用，包括光束和成像，都可以通过高度湍动的流动来预见。在每个主要应用领域，都在推动大口径或稀疏孔径系统，以提高系统的聚光能力和分辨率。最终，对能够以非常高的闭环带宽驱动数百到数千个致动器的更快的自适应光学系统有很大的需求。这项提议将增强关于全息光学处理的科学知识，以及如何使用这种技术来创建这样一种适用的、降低复杂性的、低成本的自适应光学系统。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will determine the feasibility of a novel holographic wave front sensing device. The advantage of this modal holographic wave front sensor is that it optically processes the incoming wave front, automatically generating the coefficients for the feedback signal. This is in contrast to other approaches, which rely on conventional computers to perform the processor intensive wave front expansions before feedback. By using holographic optical processing, the wave front sensor can be made to operate on a much faster time scale allowing for device operation in regimes of heavy turbulence or in extremely high resolution, large aperture systems. Other advantages include reduced size, complexity, and cost of the overall wave front device, allowing for more sensors, actuators and larger closed loop bandwidths for a given fixed budget. The technical work plan includes performance analysis of a multi-channel wave front sensing device, actual testing and measurements on a multi-channel device, examination of the major issues and barriers to practicality, and a full system device design and feasibility study.There are a variety of applications that would benefit from extremely fast, highly complex (i.e. a large number of sensors and actuators) adaptive optics systems. Scientific and government applications include imaging satellites and spacecraft through turbulent atmospheres as well as compensating atmospheric turbulence in astronomical imaging. There has also been substantial interest in adaptive optics for the projection of laser beams through the atmosphere, providing highly focused spots on targets several hundreds of kilometers away. Similar applications, both beaming and imaging, can be envisioned through highly turbulent flows. In each of these major application areas, there is a push towards larger aperture or sparse aperture systems to increase both the light gathering capability and the resolving power of the system. Ultimately, there is a large need for faster adaptive optics systems that are capable of driving hundreds to thousands of actuators at very high closed loop bandwidths. This proposal will enhance scientific knowledge on holographic optical processing and how such technology can be used to create such an applicable, reduced complexity, low cost adaptive optics systems.