title: Distributed modal command for a two-deformable-mirror adaptive optics system.
abstract: The design of future single-altitude conjugated adaptive optics (AO) systems may include at least two deformable mirrors (DMs) instead of one as in the current AO system. Each DM will have to correct for a specific spatial frequency range. A method is presented to derive a DM modal basis based on the influence functions of the DM. The modal bases are derived such that they are orthogonal to a given set of modes that restrict the DM correction to a spatial frequency domain. The modal bases have been tested on the woofer-tweeter test bench at the University of Victoria. It has been shown that the rms amplitude of the woofer DM and tweeter DM stroke can be reduced by factors of 3 and 9, respectively, when making the transition from a zonal-driven closed loop to a modal-driven closed loop with the same performance in both cases.
authors.affiliation: University of Victoria, Engineering Lab Wing A212, P.O. Box 3055 STN CSC, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, V8W 3P6. rconan@uvic.ca
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Conan
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hampton
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Keskin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hilton
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blain