Performance of adaptive optics at Lick Observatory

Conference · Tue Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:10139221

Olivier, S S; An, J; Avicola, K ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States); and others

A prototype adaptive optics system has been developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for use at Lick Observatory. This system is based on an ITEX 69-actuator continuous-surface deformable mirror, a Kodak fast-framing intensified CCD camera, and a Mercury VME board containing four Intel i860 processors. The system has been tested using natural reference stars on the 40-inch Nickel telescope at Lick Observatory yielding up to a factor of 10 increase in image peak intensity and a factor of 6 reduction in image full width at half maximum (FWHM). These results are consistent with theoretical expectations. In order to improve performance, the intensified CCD camera will be replaced by a high-quantum-efficiency low-noise fast CCD camera built for LLNL by Adaptive Optics Associates using a chip developed by Lincoln Laboratory, and the 69-actuator deformable mirror will be replaced by a 127-actuator deformable mirror developed at LLNL. With these upgrades, the system should perform well in median seeing conditions on the 120-inch Shane telescope for observing wavelengths longer than {approximately}1 {mu}m and using natural reference stars brighter than m{sub R} {approximately} 10 or using the laser currently being developed at LLNL for use at Lick Observatory to generate a sodium-layer reference star.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 10139221
• Report Number(s): UCRL-JC--116506; CONF-940391--2; ON: DE94009382
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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