The Laser Tomography Adaptive Optics testbed is used for testing system concepts for future wide-field adaptive optics systems for 8-meter to 30-meter primary mirror diameter class telescopes. We are exploring new technologies that include the use of multiple laser guide stars in a tomographic reconstructor and the use of multiple deformable mirrors to correct the atmosphere either at conjugate layer heights in the atmosphere or at multiple astronomical target points in the field of view.

ShaneAO is the next generation adaptive optics system for the Shane 3-meter telescope on Mt. Hamilton. This system will integrate newly developed AO technologies to make a system with overall higher Strehl, higher sensitivity, and broader wavelength coverage than the present instrument. New technologies deployed include a MEMS deformable mirror with 1024 degrees of freedom (~700 in the aperture), lower noise and more finely sampled wavefront sensor (8x8, 16x16, and (future) 32x32 subaperture), a larger and more sensitive infrared science detector (1k x 1k imaging region, 20x20 arcsec field, diffraction limited sampling in J,H,K), and a fiber optic solid state laser (10 watt output optimized for >5x return per watt than the present laser). The system will produce diffraction-limited images and spectra in the J through K (1.25 to 2.2 micron) science bands over a large fraction of the sky when operated in LGS mode. It will also be capable of imaging with AO correction, but not diffraction-limited, in science bands shortward of J and well into the visible, with AO performance depending on seeing conditions and guidestar brightness. Both LGS mode (high sky coverage) and NGS mode (surrounding a bright star) will be accommodated. ShaneAO is supported with a grant from the National Science Foundation (#0923585) More on ShaneAO

Over 400 planets around nearby stars have been discovered through indirect means, however only a few have been detected directly by their own light. For planet characterization in its own light, the instrument must be of extraordinarly high contrast to separate the planet out of the glare of light from its parent star. "Extreme" adaptive optics (ExAO) achieves this high contrast by using a precise and high-speed adaptive optics system. An ExAO instrument looks in only a narrow field around the parent star and uses the star's light as its wavefront reference beacon. High precision wavefront control is achieved with a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) deformable mirror. The ExAO laboratory contains a prototype ExAO system with a high-order MEMS mirror and a coronagraph, combined with a precision phase-shifting diffraction interferometer (PSDI) and science grade CCD for characterization of the wavefront quality and image plane contrast properties. ExAO system development has led to a project to build and commission the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) instrument for the 8 meter Gemini Telescope. Ongoing laboratory research work will include design and testing of concepts for even higher contrast instruments for a 30 meter class ground-based telescope and space-based telescopes of the future.

New concepts and materials for wavefront sensing and wavefront correction will be required for the next generation of adaptive optics instruments. We are collaborating with researchers from industry and academia to develop technology in the areas of high speed low noise wavefront sensor detectors, MEMS deformable mirrors, and real-time computers.