Skip to main content

Mini AO kits

Thorlabs has extended its line of adaptive optics (AO) kits to include the AOK2 series of Mini AO kits. The Mini AO kits are the result of a partnership between Thorlabs and Boston Micromachines Corporation (BMC). Designed to be integrated within research systems in hours rather than months, these systems enable real-time, high-precision wavefront measurement and correction.

Each Mini AO kit includes a choice of a gold- or aluminium-coated 32-actuator MEMS-based mini deformable mirror (DM) manufactured by BMC, Thorlabs' Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, all imaging optics and associated mounting hardware, fully functional standalone control software for immediate control of the system, and a low-level support library to assist with tailored applications. When combined, these components are designed for use in the 600-1,100nm range and the 400-1,100nm range, respectively, and provide a closed-loop frame rate of 8Hz in correction mode.

Microelectromechanical (MEMS) deformable mirrors are currently the most widely used technology in wavefront shaping applications given their versatility, maturing technology, and high-resolution wavefront correction. The Mini-DM included with these AO kits consists of a mirror membrane that is deformed by 32 electrostatic actuators (a 6 x 6 actuator array), each of which offers 3.5µm of stroke and can be individually controlled. Unlike piezoelectric mirrors, the electrostatic actuation used with BMC's mirrors ensures deformation without hysteresis.

Topics

Read more about:

Press release, Wavefront sensing

Editor's picks

Media Partners