Development status on the real-time controller for solar multi-conjugate adaptive optics system

Solar observations are performed over an extended field of view (FoV) and the isoplanatic patch which conventional adaptive optics (AO) provides diffraction limited resolution is a severe limitation. Multi-conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) can be used to extend the corrected FoV of AO system. Compared to AO, MCAO which usually utilizes a wide-field Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor to control multiple deformable mirrors(DMs) is more complicated. Because the Sun is an extended object, correlation algorithms are applied to detect gradients in solar MCAO system. Moreover, due to the fast evolving daytime seeing conditions and the fact that much science has to be done at visible wavelengths, a very high closed-loop bandwidth is also required. The computation and delay development of the real-time controller (RTC) in solar MCAO system is more challenging than that in night-time MCAO system. This paper reviews the solar MCAO techniques and systems in the world, especially emphasizes the framework and implementation of the RTC. The development of MCAO in China is also introduced. An outlook of the RTC for the solar MCAO system in development is given.

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