MMT adaptive secondary prototype development

We designed and manufacture dan 'Adaptive Secondary Mirror 30 Actuators Prototype' that represents as much as possible the final MMT adaptive optics unit for what concerns mechanical, electronic and cooling system issues. Moreover, different actuator designs have been tested by using the same test bench. The adaptive secondary is based on a thin continuous facesheet mirror moved by electromagnetic actuators. Permanent magnets are glued on the mirror, while voice coils are connected to the support structure by cold fingers. A capacitive sensor co-located with each actuator measures the local gap between the mirror and a reference back plate. Voice coil motors allow to perform chopping and tip-tilt correction by using directly the deformable mirror. Actuators pitch is set to achieve high order correction in the visible wavelength.