Distorted Grating Wavefront Sensor

Under this Phase II SBIR effort Kestrel Corporation proposes to demonstrate the advantages of a distorted grating based wavefront sensor for measuring wavefront aberrations under propagation conditions that simulate the high levels of aberrations found inan Airborne Laser (ABL) application. The proposed technique was conceptually demonstrated during Phase I laboratory experiments where the sensor reconstructed phase maps under highly scintillated conditions that could not accurately be reconstructed usingconventional wavefront sensors. The Phase II testing will be done at the Lincoln Laboratory Advanced Concepts Laboratory in parallel with a conventional wavefront sensor to allow direct comparison between the two technologies and where the sensor can becoupled to a deformable mirror. The distorted grating wavefront sensing technique has the potential of overcoming existing shortfalls in wavefront sensing by providing increased accuracy, improved optical efficiency, and relaxed alignment requirements.