Holographic correction and phasing of large sparse-array telescopes.
I have constructed a 1-m-diameter telescope using separate, low-quality spherical primary mirror segments. A single hologram of the mirrors is used to correct the random surface distortions as well as spherical aberration, while simultaneously phasing the individual apertures together. I present experimental results of the removal of an error of thousands of waves to produce a diffraction-limited instrument operating over a narrow bandwidth. This technique promises to have many benefits in future space-based telescopes for imaging, lidar, and optical communications.
Andersen
Geoff
G
Department of Physics, Laser and Optics Research Center, Suite 2A31, 2354 Fairchild Drive, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado 80840, USA. geoff.andersen@usafa.af.mil