Alignment and integration of ASSIST: a test bench for VLT adaptive optics facility

Atul Deep; Robin Arsenault; Wilfried Boland; Bernard Delabre; Norbert Hubin; Paolo La Penna; Pierre-Yves Madec; Frank Molster; Remko Stuik; Sebastien Tordo; Emiel Wiegers

doi:10.1117/12.860491

3 September 2010 Alignment and integration of ASSIST: a test bench for VLT adaptive optics facility

Atul Deep, Robin Arsenault, Wilfried Boland, Bernard Delabre, Norbert Hubin, Paolo La Penna, Pierre-Yves Madec, Frank Molster, Remko Stuik, Sebastien Tordo, Emiel Wiegers

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7793, Optical System Alignment, Tolerancing, and Verification IV; 77930L (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.860491
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

ASSIST, The Adaptive Secondary Setup and Instrument STimulator, is being developed to provide a testing facility for the ESO Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF). It will allow the off-telescope testing of three elements of the VLT AOF; the Deformable Secondary Mirror (DSM) and the AO systems for MUSE and HAWK-I (GALACSI and GRAAL). The core of ASSIST consists of a 2-mirror setup (AM1-AM2) allowing the on-axis test of the DSM in interferometric mode. However, during the initial stages of ASSIST integration, DSM would not be present. This makes the task of aligning AM1-AM2 to within an accuracy of 0.05mm/1 arcmin rather challenging. A novel technique known as Shack-Hartmann method has been developed and tested in the lab for this purpose. A Shack Hartmann wavefront sensor will be used to measure the mis-alignment between AM1-AM2 by recording the coma and astigmatism in the presence of large spherical aberration introduced because of tilt/decenter of AM2 with respect to AM1. Thereafter, 20 optical components including lenses, flat mirrors and beam-splitter cubes divided into five sub-assemblies should be aligned to AM1-AM2- DSM axis which ultimately passes through the mechanical axis of large AMOS rotator.

Citation Download Citation

Atul Deep, Robin Arsenault, Wilfried Boland, Bernard Delabre, Norbert Hubin, Paolo La Penna, Pierre-Yves Madec, Frank Molster, Remko Stuik, Sebastien Tordo, and Emiel Wiegers "Alignment and integration of ASSIST: a test bench for VLT adaptive optics facility", Proc. SPIE 7793, Optical System Alignment, Tolerancing, and Verification IV, 77930L (3 September 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.860491

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