MEMS practice: from the lab to the telescope

Katie M. Morzinski; Andrew P. Norton; Julia Wilhelmson Evans; Layra Reza; Scott A. Severson; Daren Dillon; Marc Reinig; Donald T. Gavel; Steven Cornelissen; Bruce A. Macintosh; Claire E. Max

doi:10.1117/12.910964

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15 February 2012 MEMS practice: from the lab to the telescope

Katie M. Morzinski, Andrew P. Norton, Julia Wilhelmson Evans, Layra Reza, Scott A. Severson, Daren Dillon, Marc Reinig, Donald T. Gavel, Steven Cornelissen, Bruce A. Macintosh, Claire E. Max

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Proceedings Volume 8253, MEMS Adaptive Optics VI; 825304 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.910964
Event: SPIE MOEMS-MEMS, 2012, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology can provide for deformable mirrors (DMs) with excellent performance within a favorable economy of scale. Large MEMS-based astronomical adaptive optics (AO) systems such as the Gemini Planet Imager are coming on-line soon. As MEMS DM end-users, we discuss our decade of practice with the micromirrors, from inspecting and characterizing devices to evaluating their performance in the lab. We also show MEMS wavefront correction on-sky with the "Villages" AO system on a 1-m telescope, including open-loop control and visible-light imaging. Our work demonstrates the maturity of MEMS technology for astronomical adaptive optics.

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Katie M. Morzinski, Andrew P. Norton, Julia Wilhelmson Evans, Layra Reza, Scott A. Severson, Daren Dillon, Marc Reinig, Donald T. Gavel, Steven Cornelissen, Bruce A. Macintosh, and Claire E. Max "MEMS practice: from the lab to the telescope", Proc. SPIE 8253, MEMS Adaptive Optics VI, 825304 (15 February 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.910964

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