Adaptive feedback control of optical jitter using <inline-formula><math display="inline" overflow="scroll"><mi>Q</mi></math></inline-formula>-parameterization

Abstract

Vibration-induced jitter degrades the pointing and imaging performance of precision optical systems. Practical active jitter reduction is achieved by maintaining beam alignment with mirror-positioning control systems. In the presence of time-varying or uncertain disturbances, jitter control systems using fixed-gain feedback control loops cannot operate without significant limitations on their performance. A feedback control technique called Q-parameterization can adapt to time-varying disturbances by adjusting its parameters in real time to maintain optimal performance. Adaptive feedback jitter control using Q-parameterization is experimentally verified on an optical testbed, increasing jitter reduction compared to an H2-optimal fixed-gain controller.