A low-cost and high-performance technique for adaptive optics static wavefront correction

Abstract

Abstract Non-Common Path Error (NCPE) is one of the factors that limit an Adaptive Optics (AO) system from delivering ultra-high performance. To correct the NCPE associated static aberration, we propose a simple but robust and high-performance pupil-plane based wavefront measurement and correction technique, which can copy a single-mode fiber generated perfect wavefront to the AO system via an iteration optimization process, and the NCPE can be effectively corrected by directly commanding the Deformable Mirror (DM) of the AO system. Compared with the previous focal-plane based approach that uses focal plane based Point Spread Function (PSF) for correction evaluation, the pupil-plane based approach can be reliably and rapidly converged to a global optimization result and provides better performance, in particular for an AO system with a large initial static wavefront error. This technique we proposed can be implemented in astronomical AO systems where extremely high performance is required.