Fast adaptive optics technology for advanced laser applications

英国天文技术中心（UKATC）和西苏格兰大学（UWS）开发了一种新的自适应光学技术。这项PIPSS提案所依据的研究是由STFC资助的，其目的是提供将用于欧洲超大望远镜反射镜系统的技术。我们的技术涉及可变形镜，用于校正从太空射入望远镜的光线的畸变，在地面望远镜中，这种畸变通常是由穿过地球大气层的光线引起的。可变形反射镜可以弯曲成形状，以纠正光波中的大气畸变。弯曲力由致动器提供，例如本文讨论的压电堆叠致动器。我们开发的新技术使我们能够从嵌入执行器本身的传感器中准确了解每个执行器的扩展。它可以消除由单个执行器的滞后引起的不确定性，这意味着控制电压不能将执行器正确地移动到期望的位置。传感技术将与制造工艺相结合，使密集的微型执行器阵列能够经济有效地生产。项目合作伙伴以联合专利的形式保护了该技术的知识产权。与工业界的讨论表明，这项技术很可能在天文学以外的先进激光系统中得到应用，这些激光系统也内置了可变形镜，例如用于塑造激光束或消除畸变。将该技术纳入这些系统将提高激光束校正的速度和准确性。在这个项目中，我们将与工业合作伙伴密切合作，为这些激光应用开发技术。

The UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC) and the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) have developed a novel adaptive optic technology. The aim of the STFC funded research on which this PIPSS proposal is based is to provide technology which will be used in the mirror systems of the European Extremely Large Telescope. Our technology concerns the deformable mirrors which are used to correct distortions in the light coming into the telescope from space, which in a ground-based telescope is usually caused by the light travelling through the earth's atmosphere. The deformable mirrors can be bent into shape to correct for the atmospheric distortion in the light waves. The bending forces are supplied by actuators, such as the piezoelectric stack actuators discussed in this proposal. The new technology we have developed enables us to have accurate knowledge of the extension of each actuator from a sensor embedded in the actuator itself. It can remove uncertainties caused by hysteresis in the individual actuators, which means that the control voltage cannot move the actuators correctly to the desired position. The sensing technique will be combined with a manufacturing process which enables dense arrays of miniature actuators to produced cost-effectively. The project partners have protected the intellectual property in this technology with a joint patent. Discussions with industry indicated that this technology is likely to have applications outside astronomy in advanced laser systems which also have deformable mirrors built in, for example for shaping a laser beam or removing distortion. Incorporating the technology into these systems will improve the speed and accuracy with which the laser beam can be corrected. During this project we will develop the technology for these laser applications, in close collaboration with the industrial partner.