The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) utilizes active optics on its three mirrors to maintain image quality. This paper describes the philosophy behind the design and characterization of the inner loop controllers for the LSST project. A custom approach was selected in order to satisfy the stringent requirements of the active optics control system resulting in a very low power, robust and compact solution. The tough metrology requirements were translated into an analog front end capable of performing with high accuracy under the varying ambient conditions, mainly temperature. Networking capabilities are embedded in the design to adapt to different distributed control configurations. All basic applications and some additional uses are discussed, and test results are presented.

Date Published: 7 August 2014
PDF: 14 pages
Proc. SPIE 9151, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation, 91512K (7 August 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2056671

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9151:
Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation
Ramón Navarro; Colin R. Cunningham; Allison A. Barto, Editor(s)