Adaptive optics at the IOE, CAS

Abstract

R&D on Adaptive Optics in the Institute of Optics & Electronics (IOE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) began in 1979. In this paper, several recent achievements will be reported: 1. AO for astronomical telescopes. AO system for 1.2 m telescope at Yunnan Astronomical Observatory was built in 1998. It was updated in 2004, and high resolution images approaching diffraction limit were obtained. A new AO telescope with 1.8m aperture is being built, and a 4m AO telescope is being planned. 2. AO for ICF facility. A 19-element AO system with hill-climbing control algorithm for "Shenguang I" ICF facility was built in 1985, which was the first AO system used in ICF facility in the world. A set of 8 AO systems was installed in a bundle of ICF prototype for "Shenguang III" ICF facility. A new system is being built for further development of ICF facility. 3. AO for retinal imaging. In 1999, the first AO system with 19-element DM was built for retinal imaging. Several AO systems with 37-element deformable mirror (DM) were built and used for vision research and clinical inspection. It is being integrated with an OCT system for high resolution retinal imaging. All of the main subsystems, such as DMs, wavefront sensors, and high speed processors, were built in the Laboratory on Adaptive Optics of IOE, CAS.