Turbulence compensation using micromirror arrays: the array design

Abstract

An array of micromirrors can be used to correct the wavefront aberrations due to atmospheric turbulence. A simple method is presented for estimating the number of piston-only micromirrors needed to correct the seeing. We also compute how many piston-tip-tilt micromirrors are required. The three-actuator micromirrors are found to produce a more efficient solution, requiring 4X fewer actuators for the same improvement in the Strehl ratio.