Search

The MAORY adaptive optics module is part of the first light instrumentation suite for the E-ELT. The MAORY project phase B is going to start soon. This paper contains a system-level overview of the current instrument design.

We present an overview of the latest simulation results obtained for the European Extremely Large Telescope's different Adaptive Optics systems. Different areas of the telescope and instruments are covered. Simulations showing how a single conjugated AO system can be used to detect a scalloping error is shown. We show that when the scalloping error modes are entered in the reconstruction modal basis, the DM shape can be used to estimate the scalloping error through a simple matrix vector multiply. Temporal averaging allows to get rid of the atmospheric noise on the scalloping measurement assuming a perfect “scalloping actuator” and to get a measurement accuracy of ~20nm rms. In a second part, we focus on a few results obtained on tomographic AO systems, like for example the sensitivity to the number of Deformable Mirrors and their pitch in multi-conjugate AO, and the impact of the outer scale of turbulence on Laser tomography AO.

The TMT first light Adaptive Optics (AO) facility consists of the Narrow Field Infra-Red AO System (NFIRAOS) and the associated Laser Guide Star Facility (LGSF). NFIRAOS is a 60 x 60 laser guide star (LGS) multi-conjugate AO (MCAO) system, which provides uniform, diffraction-limited performance in the J, H, and K bands over 17-30 arc sec diameter fields with 50 per cent sky coverage at the galactic pole, as required to support the TMT science cases. NFIRAOS includes two deformable mirrors, six laser guide star wavefront sensors, and several low-order, infrared, natural guide star wavefront sensors within each client instrument. The first light LGSF system includes six sodium lasers required to generate the NFIRAOS laser guide stars. In this paper, we will provide an update on the progress in designing, modeling and validating the TMT first light AO systems and their components over the last two years. This will include the final design activities for NFIRAOS, preliminary design activities for the LGSF, final design and prototyping activities for the deformable mirrors, final design and fabrication for the visible detectors, preliminary design activities for the NFIRAOS visible cameras, preliminary design activities for the NFIRAOS Real Time Controller (RTC) and development and tests of prototype candidate lasers. Comprehensive and detailed AO modeling is also continuing to support the design and development of the first light AO facility.