Advanced Concepts in Adaptive Optics

Advanced optics is a technique employed to enhance the performance of optical systems through reduction of the impact of wavefront distortions. Developments in adaptive optics technology and applications have moved ahead at a fast pace. The general idea of wavefront compensation in real-time has been present since the mid-1970s. The first broadly employed application of adaptive optics was for compensating atmospheric turbulence effects in astronomical imaging and laser beam propagation. Whereas some topics have undergone research for years, even decades, new developments and applications in the supporting technologies keep emerging almost every day. This book is a compilation of contributions made by authors from across the world. The topics covered in this book are adaptive optics and the human eye, image post-processing, atmospheric turbulence characterization, deformable mirrors, high power laser distortion compensation, astronomy with huge telescopes, and wave-front sensors among others. Descriptive information on all these topics has been provided in this book.