Wave-front generation of Zernike polynomial modes with a micromachined membrane deformable mirror

We investigate the characteristics of a 37-channel micromachined membrane d eformable mirror for wave-front generation. We demonstrate wave-front gener ation of the first 20 Zernike polynomial modes, using an iterative algorith m to adjust driving voltages. The results show that lower-order-mode wave f ronts can be generated with good accuracy and large dynamic range, whereas the generation of higher-order modes is limited by the number of the actuat or channels and the working range of the deformable mirror. The speed of wa ve-front generation can be as fast as several hundred hertz. Our results in dicate that, in addition to generation of wave fronts with known aberration s, the characteristics of the micromachined membrane deformable mirror devi ce can be useful in adaptive optics systems for compensating the first five orders of aberration. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America.