CAMERA - An Low cost AO System for the Palomar 60 Inch Telescope

CAMERA stands for Caltech affordable MEMs based Rayleigh guide star Adaptive optics system

Salient Features

1. Automated AO system with web interface and queue scheduling

2. Runs off of a Linux PC

3. Uses a solid-state Rayleigh laser

4. Employs a 12x12 MEMS DM

5. Compact OAP based optical relay (0.5m x 0.5m area)

6. 11x11 Hartmann-Shack WFS

7. Visible AO for small telescopes with dual band imaging capability

8. Costs ~1M USD

9. Lucky imager (EMCCD) and IR imager with ROI readout for T/T sensing

Pictures showing the layout, WFS and the electronics (click for bigger images)

Pictures showing solid models of the AO system (with EMCCD and IR imager) and it mounted to the 60" Telescope (click for bigger images)

Some photos of the CAMERA testbed in the lab at Caltech.

Pictures of the beam quality through the CAMERA optical relay

Movie of the pulnix running on a linux PC

August 6th, 2007

September 4th, 2007

September 4th, 2007

To do List

1. Integrate PI T/T mirror into the system

2. Optimize control code for system to work at 500 Hz (DM electronics' bottleneck as of now)

3. Get an automatic atmosphere simulator in place

4. Get Pulnix images using cameralink interface

5. Get Scimeasure camera working with cameralink interface

6. Get faster electronics for the DM to work at 2 KHz

For more info, contact: M. Britton (mbritton[at]phobos.caltech.edu), V. Velur (vnv[at]phobos.caltech.edu) or N. Law (nlaw[at]phobos.caltech.edu)