The Wide Field Phasing Testbed (WFPT) will be used to test phasing and active optics systems planned for the doubly segmented Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). The testbed consists of a set of optical relays including segmented and deformable mirrors (DMs) that represent the GMT primary and secondary. Displacements, tilts, and clocking of the GMT M1 and M2 segments generate discontinuous wavefront errors that cannot be accurately reproduced by only continuous-surface deformable mirrors. Therefore, two segmented Piston-Tip-Tilt (PTT) mirror arrays placed at the M1 and M2 conjugate positions augment the DMs to reproduce these wavefronts in the WFPT. They must have large stroke (≥10 µm piston) with high temporal stability (⪅20 nm) to avoid drifts from corrupting the sequential AGWS measurements. They must also have very narrow gaps between the mirror clear apertures to mimic the GMT pupil geometry. The pupil size at the PTT array was scaled to fit hexagonal 17mm mirror segments, producing a pupil of approximately 50.25 mm in diameter. Each of the seven segment assemblies consists of a custom segment base component, to which a set of three piezo actuators are epoxied. We selected lead zirconate titanate (PZT) discrete stack actuators which incorporate strain gauges to allow for closed-loop operation, thus eliminating the hysteresis and creep effects of the actuator. A two-axis flexure is bonded to each piezo, opposite the bonded base. The hexagonal mirror is bonded to the three flexures. The assembly, testing and integration challenges of two arrays completed in June 2022 is discussed.
The GMT Acquisition, Guidance and Wavefront Sensing System (AGWS) is responsible for making the measurements
required to keep the optics of the seven-segment Giant Magellan Telescope coaligned, phased, pointed correctly and
properly figured. Each AGWS probe includes several mechanisms to enable the probe to access and accurately track guide
stars within its patrol field. Mechanism performance is crucial to the overall performance of the AGWS as they must be
able to handle the large mass of the probe while operating over the wide GMT operational temperature and dynamic motion
ranges. Prototyping test results have demonstrated compliance with challenging AGWS requirements.
The Active optics, Guiding, and Wavefront Sensing system (AGWS), currently being designed by SAO, will use J-band dispersed fringe sensors (DFS) to phase the GMT to a fraction of an imaging wavelength. These phasing sensors will use off-axis guide stars to measure phase shifts at each of 12 segment boundaries. The fringes produced at each boundary will be dispersed in the perpendicular direction using an array of high-index doublet prisms. Inter-segment phase shifts will appear as tilts in the dispersed fringes, which can be measured in the Fourier domain. In order to avoid atmospheric blurring of the fringes, we require a J-band detector capable of fast, low-noise readout, which mandates the use of a SAPHIRA e-APD array. We built a DFS prototype that we tested on-sky at the Magellan Clay telescope behind the MagAO adaptive optics system in May 2018.
The Giant Magellan Telescope’s Acquisition, Guiding, and Wavefront Sensing System (AGWS) is comprised of four identical probes, each containing 11 axes of precision control. The largest of the mechanisms carries a mass of nearly 500kg. The mechanisms are diverse in type, including a voice coil actuated tip-tilt mirror, a rotary harmonic drive, high accuracy and precision lenslet rotation stages and ballscrew driven linear stages. To meet image quality, positioning, and tracking requirements, these mechanisms and their EtherCATcontrolled servos are designed for stiffness. Employing inductive tape encoders, they must position and track to 10um precision with minimal backlash, over velocities ranging from ~10mm/sec to essentially zero, where stiction becomes significant. We will present the designs of the mechanisms, highlighting key features, design trades, and preliminary prototyping results.
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