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Unimorph deformable mirror for space telescopes: design and manufacturing
Optics Express
|September 15, 2015
Summary
This study presents a new piezoelectric deformable mirror designed for large space telescopes. This active optics system corrects wavefront errors, improving image quality and easing telescope stability requirements.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Aerospace Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Large space telescopes with deployable structures face optical aberrations due to thermal deformation, gravitational release, and alignment errors during deployment.
- Active optics systems are crucial for on-site correction of wavefront errors, reducing the need for extreme thermal and mechanical stability in optical trains.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and manufacture a unimorph deformable mirror utilizing piezoelectric actuation for space applications.
- To design a mirror capable of correcting large, low-order aberrations with high surface fidelity in a space environment.
Main Methods:
- Development and manufacturing of a unimorph deformable mirror.
- Utilized piezoelectric actuation for mirror control.
- Testing in simulated space environment conditions.
Main Results:
- Successfully developed and manufactured a piezoelectric deformable mirror.
- The mirror demonstrated capability to work in a space environment.
- The mirror effectively corrects large, low-order aberrations with high surface fidelity.
Conclusions:
- The developed deformable mirror is a viable solution for correcting aberrations in large space telescopes.
- This active optics technology can significantly ease the stringent stability requirements for future space optical systems.
