Refractive multi-conjugate adaptive optics for wide-field atmospheric turbulence correction

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel refractive multi-conjugate adaptive optics system using deformable lenses for wide-field atmospheric turbulence correction, demonstrating improved isoplanatic patch size and suitability for compact free-space optical communication systems.

Contribution

Introduces a refractive MCAO system with deformable lenses, simplifying optical design and enhancing correction performance for portable atmospheric correction applications.

Findings

Achieved up to three times larger isoplanatic patch

Demonstrated effective turbulence correction in a compact setup

Validated system performance with fiber coupling experiments

Abstract

Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) is essential for increasing the corrected Field-of-View (FoV) in astronomical imaging and potentially for free-space optical communications, particularly for small-aperture, transportable systems. We demonstrate the viability and performance of a Refractive-MCAO system utilizing a novel multi-actuator Deformable Lens (DL) as the wavefront correction element. Unlike conventional Deformable Mirrors (DMs), the transmissive nature of the DL simplifies the optical train, making it ideal for compact setups. Using a Shack-Hartmann Wavefront Sensor (SH-WFS) in conjunction with two DLs conjugated to different atmospheric layers, we achieved an extension of the isoplanatic patch up to three times the uncorrected atmospheric isoplanatic angle under moderate turbulence D/r0 = 2. We tested the MCAO system in a setup that emulates a free space optical communication for compact transportable system. In a double-channel, single-mode fiber coupling experiment we demonstrated the efficiency of this method.