Bending modes for active optics

Byron Smith; Brian Cuerden

doi:10.1117/12.894020

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16 September 2011 Bending modes for active optics

Byron Smith, Brian Cuerden

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Proceedings Volume 8149, Astronomical Adaptive Optics Systems and Applications IV; 81490D (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894020
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

While the concept of wavefront decomposition is a foundation of active optics systems, the choice of basis functions for mirror figure control is divided. The common functions are Zernike polynomials, ubiquitously used for wavefront descriptions, and bending (also called minimum energy or vibration) modes which offer optimal performance. We present a look at the comparative performance between the two approaches, and discuss an implementation approach which seeks to combine much of the analytic and interface simplicity of Zernike polynomials with the improved performance of bending modes.

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Byron Smith and Brian Cuerden "Bending modes for active optics", Proc. SPIE 8149, Astronomical Adaptive Optics Systems and Applications IV, 81490D (16 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894020

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