End-to-end simulations of photonic phase correctors for adaptive optics systems

TL;DR

This paper proposes a photonic integrated circuit for adaptive optics that can correct wavefront distortions without traditional deformable mirrors, using end-to-end simulations to evaluate its performance under atmospheric turbulence.

Contribution

It introduces a novel integrated photonic approach to adaptive optics, replacing deformable mirrors with a scalable, potentially less costly solution.

Findings

The photonic circuit effectively samples and corrects wavefront distortions in simulations.

Performance varies with atmospheric conditions, demonstrating adaptability.

Potential for deployment in free-space optical communication systems.

Abstract

Optical beams and starlight distorted by atmospheric turbulence can be corrected with adaptive optics systems to enable efficient coupling into single-mode fibers. Deformable mirrors, used to flatten the wavefront in astronomical telescopes, are costly, sensitive, and complex mechanical components that require careful calibration to enable high-quality imaging in astronomy, microscopy, and vision science. They are also impractical to deploy in large numbers for non-imaging applications like free-space optical communication. Here, we propose a photonic integrated c rcuit capable of spatially sampling the wavefront collected by the telescope and co-phasing the subapertures to maximize the flux delivered to an output single-mode fiber as the integrated photonic implementation of a deformable mirror. We present the results of end-to-end simulations to quantify the performance of the proposed photonic solution under varying atmospheric conditions toward realizing an adaptive optics system without a deformable mirror for free-space optical receivers.