Large Aperture Wave Front Sensor |
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Optical Physics Company is now offering a family of compact, low-cost, custom-made wavefront sensors to measure dynamic disturbances in 1-3 m diameter optical systems. The subaperture sensors (called NanoTrackers™) for this device are 2D lateral shearing interferometers capable of measuring tilt to 1.7 nanoradians rms at 4 KHz with 8 µW of input power as well as phasing for segmented optical systems to 75 picometers rms (also at 4 kHz). This sensor is the first of a new generation specifically designed for end-to-end testing of extremely large optical systems. The sensor can be assembled in modules up to 10 meter in diameter, and has the unusual combination of low noise (lamda/3800), 4 KHz sample rate and over 3x106:1 linear dynamic range. A 2.4 meter module is shown below with 448 subapertures. |
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| OPC has been issued a patent that protects the related intellectual property (US Patent # 6,924,899). |
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