Optical Wavefront Computer for Stabilizing Large Space Structures

Abstract

This final report investigates a new adaptive optics system architecture for wavefront correction based primarily on optical processing. The highlights are: (1) The design of a new adaptive optics system architecture incorporating optical rather than electronic processing for wavefront sampling and reconstruction. Unlike conventional adaptive systems incorporating electronic processors, the new optical system exhibits a framing rate that is independent of the sampling and reconstruction resolutions. (2) An analysis of requirements and specifications for all major components needed to implement the new optical architecture, including a lenslet array, an image intensifier tube, an optically addressed binary amplitude spatial light modulator, a transmission mask, a computer generated wavefront reconstruction hologram and an optically addressed phase modulator. (3) Design of the minimum mean square error phase reconstruction hologram. (JHD)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1989
Accession Number
ADA221707

Entities

People

  • Ira Farber

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adaptive Optics
  • Atmospheric Motion
  • Computers
  • Deformable Mirrors
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Dynamic Range
  • Efficiency
  • Electronics
  • Focal Planes
  • Geometry
  • Modulation
  • Modulators
  • Optical Modulators
  • Optical Processing
  • Optics
  • Phase Modulation

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Space
  • Space - Space Objects