Experimental demonstration of using microelectromechanical deformable mirrors to control optical aberrations

Micro-electro-mechanical deformable mirrors (MEM-DM) are solid state electronic devices with small, movable reflective surface elements which can be used to manipulate the phase of optical wave fronts. MEM-DMs differ from conventional continuous facesheet deformable mirrors in that the movable surface of a MEM-DM consists of a set of segmented moving surfaces. The segmented, reflective surfaces of a MEM-DM give rise to larger diffraction effects than those provided by continous facesheet deformable mirrors. However, MEM-DMs are still attractive due to their low cost and the low drive voltages. In this paper we present laboratory results demonstrating reduction of a fixed aberration using a MEM-DM device.