Adaptive secondary mirror demonstrator: construction and preliminary evaluation

Adaptive optics (AO) combines technologies that enable the correction of th e wavefront distortion caused by the earth's atmospheric turbulence in real time. Adaptive secondary mirror (ASM) systems have been proposed and are n ow being developed. ASMs have advantages over conventional AO systems in te rms of throughput, polarization and IR emissivity. Previously, we reported the design of an ASM demonstrator along with its predicted performance. We now report the construction techniques and the results from the preliminary static and dynamic testing of such a demonstrator. In particular, assembly methods that preserve the optical quality of the mirror are presented alon g with experimentally measured mirror influence functions and closed loop t ip/tilt performance. (C) 2000 society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engi neers.