Thorlabs has extended its line of adaptive optics (AO) kits to include the AOK2 series of Mini AO kits. The Mini AO kits are the result of a partnership between Thorlabs and Boston Micromachines Corporation (BMC). Designed to be integrated within research systems in hours rather than months, these systems enable real-time, high-precision wavefront measurement and correction.
Each Mini AO kit includes a choice of a gold- or aluminium-coated 32-actuator MEMS-based mini deformable mirror (DM) manufactured by BMC, Thorlabs' Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, all imaging optics and associated mounting hardware, fully functional standalone control software for immediate control of the system, and a low-level support library to assist with tailored applications. When combined, these components are designed for use in the 600-1,100nm range and the 400-1,100nm range, respectively, and provide a closed-loop frame rate of 8Hz in correction mode.
Microelectromechanical (MEMS) deformable mirrors are currently the most widely used technology in wavefront shaping applications given their versatility, maturing technology, and high-resolution wavefront correction. The Mini-DM included with these AO kits consists of a mirror membrane that is deformed by 32 electrostatic actuators (a 6 x 6 actuator array), each of which offers 3.5µm of stroke and can be individually controlled. Unlike piezoelectric mirrors, the electrostatic actuation used with BMC's mirrors ensures deformation without hysteresis.