Principles of Adaptive Optics, Third Edition

Since the publication of the second edition of Principles of Adaptive Optics, the developments and applications in this area have increased tremendously. Observatories are now producing outstanding science through adaptive optics technology; components, such as micromachined deformable mirrors and very low noise detectors, are revolutionizing the field; and the industrial and medical arenas are harnessing the capabilities of adaptive optics tools in free-space laser communications, laser-induced fusion, and retinal imaging. Although the complexity of these applications has intensified, the principles essentially remain the same. Principles of Adaptive Optics, Third Edition offers a comprehensive guide to the systems, components, and processes of adaptive optics. It covers the principles used to extract information from beams of light and improve the performance of optical systems by correcting distortions and aberrations. Condensing the vast array of literature into one accessible source, this edition incorporates recent developments and adds many new references. It discusses how the principles are applied to astronomical imaging systems, retinal imaging, and beam propagation systems. The book logically progresses from determining the sources of aberrations to designing and analyzing systems to describing major subsystems, such as wavefront sensors, correction devices, wavefront reconstruction, and real-time controls.

Table of Contents:
History and Background Introduction History Physical Optics Terms in Adaptive Optics Sources of Aberrations Atmospheric Turbulence Thermal Blooming Nonatmospheric Sources Adaptive Optics Compensation Phase Conjugation Limitations of Phase Conjugation Artificial Guide Stars Lasers for Guide Stars Combining the Limitations Linear Analysis Partial Phase Conjugation Adaptive Optics Systems Adaptive Optics Imaging Systems Beam Propagation Systems Unconventional Adaptive Optics System Engineering Wavefront Sensing Directly Measuring Phase Direct Wavefront Sensing—Modal Zonal Direct Wavefront Sensing Indirect Wavefront Sensing Methods Wavefront Sampling Detectors and Noise Wavefront Correction Modal-Tilt Correction Modal Higher-Order Correction Segmented Mirrors Deformable Mirrors Bimorph Corrector Mirrors Membranes and Micromachined Mirrors Edge-Actuated Mirrors Large Correcting Optics Special Correction Devices Reconstruction and Controls Introduction Single-Channel Linear Control Multivariate Adaptive Optics Controls Direct Wavefront Reconstruction Beyond Linear Control Summary of Important Equations Atmospheric Turbulence Wavefront Expressions Atmospheric Turbulence Amplitude Expressions Adaptive Optics Compensation Expressions Laser Guide Star Expressions Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Robert K. Tyson is an associate professor of physics and optical science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from West Virginia University. Active in the field for over thirty years, Dr. Tyson has worked in the aerospace industry designing systems and supporting technology for strategic-defense high-energy laser weapons systems.

Review :
The third edition continues to set the same standards, but it has been brought right up to date in terms of the available hardware and the growing literature of this rapidly advancing field. ! The key areas of the subject are dealt with in comprehensible terms ! a standard work for those interested in the field and needing a point of reference. ! the book will give [readers] a great deal of help in finding the route through this world of smoke and bendy mirrors. --R.S. Shorter, Contemporary Physics, 52, 2011 Tyson offers a guide to the systems, components, and processes of adaptive optics, and the principles used to extract information from beams of light and improve the performance of optical systems by correcting distortions and aberrations. He describes the history and background of the field, sources of aberrations, adaptive optics compensation and systems, wavefront sensing and correction, and reconstruction and controls. Revised and updated, this edition incorporates recent developments, new references, and applications of the principles to astronomical imaging systems, retinal imaging, and beam propagation systems. --SciTech Book News, February 2011 When Bob Tyson's Principles of Adaptive Optics was first published in 1991, it immediately became the reference text for everyone working in the field. The comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the field, clear explanations, and extensive reference to the original literature ensured its success. This completely revised and updated third edition retains the strengths of the original text. Everyone involved in AO should have a copy on the shelf, and like the original, the extensive list of references (more than 900) provides an excellent pointer to the original literature. --From the Foreword by Christopher Dainty, National University of Ireland, Galway