A VME BASED CCD IMAGING SYSTEM FOR THE VIRGO INTERFEROMETER CONTROL

Abstract Large interferometric detectors, like VIRGO, are planned to detect gravitational waves, by observing the motions of the suspended mirrors of a Michelson interferometer with kilometric Fabry Perot cavity arms. Due to the large sensitivity needed, the set-up requires a real time monitoring of its mirrors positions, and the analysis of beam shape during the alignment. In this paper, we present the development and the performance of a beam imaging system which uses a CCD camera interfaced to a VME board.