Layer-oriented adaptive optics for solar telescopes

Abstract

First multi-conjugate adaptive-optical (MCAO) systems are currently being installed on solar telescopes. The aim of these systems is to increase the corrected field-of-view with respect to conventional adaptive optics. However, this first generation is based on a star-oriented approach, and it is then difficult to increase the size of the field-of-view beyond 60"-80" in diameter. We propose to implement the layer-oriented approach in solar MCAO by use of wide-field Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors conjugated to the strongest turbulent layers. The wavefront distortions are averaged over a wide-field: the signal from distant turbulence is attenuated and the tomographic reconstruction is thus done optically. The system consists of independent correction loops, that only need to account for local turbulence: the sub-apertures can be enlarged and the correction frequency reduced. Most importantly, a star-oriented MCAO system becomes more complex with increasing field size, while the layer-oriented approach benefits from larger fields - and will therefore be an attractive solution for the future generation of solar MCAO systems.