Nc. Mehta et Cw. Allen, SEGMENTED MIRROR ALIGNMENT WITH FAR-FIELD OPTIMIZATION IN THE PRESENCE OF ATMOSPHERIC-TURBULENCE, Applied optics, 32(15), 1993, pp. 2664-2673
The remote alignment of segmented mirror active optics with far-field
optimization is reported. Far-field optimization eliminates the need f
or a wave-front sensor or gap sensors since it does not require any ne
ar-field measurements, but uses simple measures of the point-spread fu
nction as figures of merit. The simplex function minimization algorith
m is used to configure iteratively the segmented mirror to alignment.
We present results of computer simulations to demonstrate the applicat
ion of far-field optimization to the segmented mirror alignment in the
presence of atmospheric turbulence. The effects of static as well as
dynamic Kolmogorov turbulence (turbulence phase screen drifting across
the telescope aperture) are studied. We find that the segmented mirro
r alignment is fairly insensitive to the speed of drifting turbulence
and aligns a segmented mirror active optical system with adequate corr
ection bandwidth in a few seconds.