Control Demonstration of a Thin Deformable In-Plane Actuated Mirror

Current imaging satellites are limited in resolution and field of regard by the aperture size of their primary optical mirror. To get a large optical mirror into space, current launch weight andsize restrictions must be overcome. Membrane-like optical mirrors can overcome these restrictionswith their very lightweight and flexible properties. However, thin, deformable membrane mirrorsare very susceptible to the space environment and require active control for surface stabilization andshaping. The primary goal of this research is to demonstrate that an in-plane actuated membrane-likedeformable optical mirror can be controlled to optical wavelength tolerances in a closed-loop system.Fabrication and characterization of a five-inch membrane-like optical mirror is carried out based onefforts made in previous research. A data acquisition system to implement closed-loop feedback ischaracterized. Validity of a closed-loop control method is demonstrated with the in-plane actuateddeformable mirror.