Extremely high-power CO2 laser beam correction

This paper presents the results of high-power CO2 laser-aberration correction and jitter stabilization. A bimorph deformable mirror and two tip-tilt piezo correctors were used as executive elements. Two types of wavefront sensors, one Hartmann to measure higher-order aberrations (defocus, astigmatism etc.) based on an uncooled microbolometer long-wave infrared camera and the other a tip-tilt one based on the technology of obliquely sputtered, thin chromium films on Si substrates, were applied to measure wavefront aberrations. We discuss both positive and negative attributes of suggested wavefront sensors. The adaptive system is allowed to reduce aberrations of incoming laser radiation by seven times peak-to-valley and to stabilize the jitter of incoming beams up to 25 μrad at a speed of 100 Hz. The adaptive system frequency range for high-order aberration correction was 50 Hz.