Abstract: A multichannel, surface parallel, zonal transducer system includes a membrane and a compound transducer mounted on the membrane, the compound transducer including a plurality of transducer elements extending generally parallel to the membrane, interconnected in a closed network and individually addressable.

Abstract: Fabricating a deformable mirror by providing a plurality of actuators and a support structure supporting and at least partially surrounding the actuators; applying an optical membrane across the actuators and at least a portion of the support structure; the optical membrane including a first area, a second area and an intermediate area elastically decoupling the first and second areas; bonding the first area to the actuators and the second area to the support structure; and polishing the optical membrane.

Abstract: A leakage current compensated multiplex driver system includes a multichannel mux having a predetermined leakage current at the switched side of each channel and a leakage current compensation circuit associated with the switched side of each channel for providing a compensation current matched to the predetermined leakage current.

Abstract: An actuator for a deformable optical component includes a stack of ferroelectric layers, a plurality of electrodes for applying a voltage across each layer; every other electrode extending to an associated first conductor path and interstitial electrodes extending to an associated second conductor path the first conductor path or receiving a first conductor lead, the second conductor path for receiving a second conductor lead to contact the respective electrodes.

Abstract: A high authority deformable optical system includes an optical faceplate; a base; a plurality of circuit boards, each including at least one actuator; each actuator engaging at one end the base and at the other the optical faceplate; each printed circuit board providing conductor paths between its associated actuators and a connector device for selectively energizing the actuators.

Abstract: A closed loop compensation system including a deformable mirror including an array of spaced actuators. An array of spaced sensors is mapped in optical space to reside between pairs of actuators. A lens system receives a wavefront from the deformable mirror and focuses sub-apertures of the wavefront onto individual ones of the spaced sensors. A sequencer addresses each actuator and associated sensor in the arrays. A compute unit is configured to respond to the sequencer to set a first actuator to an adjusted stroke position and then adjust the stroke of subsequent actuators to locate, to a pre-established position, the focused sub-aperture on a sensor in the pathway between each particular subsequent actuator and a neighboring previously adjusted portion of the mirror to compensate for sub-aperture tilt while maintaining relative phase between sub-apertures.

Abstract: An active hybrid optical component includes a substrate including a mounting surface; a replicated optical surface mounted on the mounting surface; and a plurality of actuators for deforming the substrate to impose a predetermined finished optical shape to the replicated optical surface.

Abstract: An integrated actuator meniscus mirror includes an optical substrate having a mirror surface on one side and a support structure on the other for controllably altering the shape of the mirror surface without a reaction mass.

Abstract: An integrated actuator meniscus mirror includes an optical substrate having a mirror surface on one side and a support structure on the other and a plurality of actuators embedded in the support structure, spaced from and generally parallel to the mirror surface for applying bending moments to the mirror surface for controllably altering the shape of the mirror surface.

Abstract: An improved multi-axis transducer includes a stack of ferroelectric layers and a plurality of common electrodes and addressing electrodes alternately disposed between the ferroelectric layers; each of the addressing electrodes including a number of sections electrically isolated from each other and forming a set with corresponding sections in other addressing electrodes; a common conductor is electrically connected to the common electrodes and a number of addressing conductors is, each one, electrically connected to a different set of the sections of the addressing electrodes.

Abstract: An integrated wavefront correction module including a mounting device a deformable mirror carried by the mounting device for correcting for high spatial and temporal frequency error in an incident wavefront and a tip-tilt correction mechanism including a base and a plurality of tip-tilt actuators interconnected between the base and one of the flexible and fixed portions and a plurality of support posts interconnected between the base and the other of the flexible and fixed portions or alternatively the tip-tilt correction mechanism may include at least one actuator platform, a base, a first set of tip-tilt actuators for adjustably supporting the at least one actuator platform from the base and a second set of tip-tilt actuators for adjustably supporting the mounting device from the at least one actuator platform for adjusting the mounting device and the deformable mirror together to compensate for tip-tilt errors in the incident wavefront with the tip-tilt actuators being operated typically at mid-range in or

Abstract: A transverse electrodisplacive actuator array for controlling the optical phasing of a reflective surface includes a support structure; a plurality of electrodisplacive actuator elements extending from a proximate end at the support structure to a distal end; each actuator element including at least one addressable electrode and one common electrode spaced from the addressable electrode and extending along the direction of said proximate and distal ends along the transverse d31 strain axis; a reflective member having a reflective surface and a mounting surface mounted on the actuator elements; and a plurality of addressable contacts and at least one common contact for applying voltage to the addressable and common electrodes to induce a transverse strain in addressed actuator elements to effect an optical phase change in the reflective surface at the addressed actuator elements.