The driver ASIC and a DM will work together to enable NASA's applications including adaptive optics systems for correction of aberrations in large-aperture, space-deployed optical interferometers and telescopes (e.g. for nulling coronagraph), and for high-resolution imaging and communication through atmospheric turbulence. Differentiating itself from traditional driver solutions is its ultralow power dissipation, control preciseness, compactness, lightweight, and low cost. Should these features be demanded by a specific AO system to serve NASA's wavefront correction needs, the proposed ASIC will be worthy of considerations by working on four implementation levels: ASIC dies, standalone ASIC, programmable driver board, and programmable DMs.
Future non-NASA applications for ASIC-DM integrated deformable mirrors include laser beam shaping, ophthalmology and other microscope applications. For the Department of Defense, if needed, we would build prototype ASIC-DM integrated module based on the Phase II results and apply these to military seekers, FLIRs and commercial adaptive optical systems. For MEMS industry, the ASIC circuit could be combined with piezoelectric and electrostatic microactuators to serve a large variety of device applications including those in optical MEMS, RF MEMS and Bio MEMS. For telecommunication industry, the low-power, high voltage, high-speed, and the multi-channel capabilities of the ASIC driver holds promise of penetrating into the supply chains of fiber optics component markets by providing multi-channel drivers to E/O based components such as VOAs, tunable filters, and optical switches. For traditional piezoelectric actuator markets, the ASIC driver technology can provide a unique solution for applications where a large array of piezoelectric transducers needs to be actuated by a cost-effective multi-channel driver board.
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