New developments on the Ingot WFS laboratory testing

TL;DR

This paper presents recent developments in the Ingot WFS, a novel 3D wavefront sensor designed for sodium LGSs in large telescopes, including test results and improved sodium layer simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a new search algorithm for the Ingot WFS and enhances sodium LGS simulation accuracy for better sensor characterization.

Findings

Successful testing of the new search algorithm

Enhanced simulation of sodium layer variability

Insights into sodium layer impact on wavefront sensing

Abstract

The Ingot WFS was designed to overcome some of the challenges present in classical wavefront sensors when they deal with sodium LGSs. This innovative sensor works by sensing the full 3D volume of the elongated LGS and is suitable for use in very large telescopes. A test bench has been assembled at the INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova laboratories to test and characterize the functioning of the Ingot WFS. In this work, we summarize the main results of the tests performed on a new search algorithm. Then, we move towards a more accurate simulation of the sodium LGS by replicating real time-varying sodium layer profiles. The study of their impact on the ingot pupil signals is described in this work.