Adaptive optic correction using micro-electro-mechanical deformable mirrors

Julie A. Perreault; Thomas G. Bifano; Bruce Martin Levine; Mark N. Horenstein

doi:10.1117/1.1447230

1 March 2002 Adaptive optic correction using micro-electro-mechanical deformable mirrors

Julie A. Perreault, Thomas G. Bifano, Bruce Martin Levine, Mark N. Horenstein

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Optical Engineering, Vol. 41, Issue 3, (March 2002). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1447230

A micromachined deformable mirror (?-DM) for optical wavefront correction is described. Design and manufacturing approaches for ?-DMs are detailed. The ?-DM employs a flexible silicon membrane supported by mechanical attachments to an array of electrostatic parallel plate actuators. Devices are fabricated through surface micromachining using polycrystalline silicon thin films. ?-DM membranes measuring 2 mmx2 mmx2 ?m, supported by 100 actuators are described. Figures of merit include stroke of 2 ?m, resolution of 10 nm, and frequency bandwidth dc to 7 kHz in air. The devices are compact, inexpensive to fabricate, exhibit no hysteresis, and use only a small fraction of the power required for conventional DMs. Performance of an adaptive optics system using a ?-DM is characterized in a closed-loop control experiment. Significant reduction in quasistatic wavefront phase error is achieved. Advantages and limitations of ?-DMs are described in relation to conventional adaptive optics systems and to emerging applications of adaptive optics such as high-resolution correction, small-aperture systems, and optical communication.

©(2002) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

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Julie A. Perreault, Thomas G. Bifano, Bruce Martin Levine, and Mark N. Horenstein "Adaptive optic correction using micro-electro-mechanical deformable mirrors," Optical Engineering 41(3), (1 March 2002). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1447230

Published: 1 March 2002

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