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Control Demonstration Of A Thin Deformable In-Plane Actuated Mirror, Gina A. Peterson
Control Demonstration Of A Thin Deformable In-Plane Actuated Mirror, Gina A. Peterson
Theses and Dissertations
Current imaging satellites are limited in resolution and coverage area by the aperture size of their primary optical mirror. To get a large optical mirror into space, current launch weight and size restrictions must be overcome. Membrane-like optical mirrors can overcome these restrictions with their very lightweight and flexible properties. However, thin, deformable membrane mirrors are very susceptible to the space environment and require active control for surface stabilization and shaping. The primary goal of this research is to demonstrate that an in-plane actuated membrane-like deformable optical mirror can be controlled to optical wavelength tolerances in a closed-loop system. Fabrication …
Multi-Dimensional Wave Front Sensing Algorithms For Embedded Tracking And Adaptive Optics Applications, Christopher C. Wood
Multi-Dimensional Wave Front Sensing Algorithms For Embedded Tracking And Adaptive Optics Applications, Christopher C. Wood
Theses and Dissertations
Current tracking and adaptive optics techniques cannot compensate for fast-moving extended objects, which is important for ground-based telescopes providing space situational awareness. To fill this need, a vector-projection maximum-likelihood wave-front sensing algorithm development and testing follows for this application. A derivation and simplification of the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound for wavefront sensing using a laser guide star bounds the performance of these systems and guides implementation of a vastly optimized maximum-likelihood search algorithm. A complete analysis of the bias, mean square error, and variance of the algorithm demonstrates exceptional performance of the new sensor. A proof of concept implementation shows feasibility …