A method for determining the registration of an adaptive optical system is presented. Three deformable mirror actuators are sinusoidally driven at a high rate and the resulting gradients are measured using a Hartmann sensor. The gradient measurements are used to determine the translational, rotational, and magnificational registration of the deformable mirror relative to the Hartmann wavefront sensor. Two configurations are presented. The first is not effected by the compensation system but requires the use of auxiliary beams outside the clear aperture of the adaptive optical system. In the second configuration, the dithering actuators are within the clear aperture of the adaptive optical system. Simulation results are presented that show that the method can be used reliably in either configuration. In the second configuration, the method can be used reliably even in the presence of residual amplitude and phase aberrations.

Date Published: 4 February 2002
PDF: 14 pages
Proc. SPIE 4494, Adaptive Optics Systems and Technology II, (4 February 2002); doi: 10.1117/12.454792

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4494:
Adaptive Optics Systems and Technology II
Robert K. Tyson; Domenico Bonaccini; Michael C. Roggemann, Editor(s)