Biomedical subjects

Agustí Pintó

Publications and source records attributed to Agustí Pintó.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Development of a line-scan CCD-based fringe tracker for optical interferometry.

Traditional high-precision optical techniques, such as interferometry, are in ever-greater demand for noncontrolled environments. This is the case for the UPC-ZEBRA, a large-aperture interferometer that was built to measure vertical discontinuities (i.e., piston errors) in segmented mirrors. The large mechanical systems used to drive the interferometer to the different measurement positions generate perturbations that are highly incompatible with the expected piston measurements on the nanometer scale. We introduce a new system based on a line-scan CCD to track interference fringes. The error signal obtained from this fringe tracker has been used in a closed-loop control system to actively stabilize the interferometer. The perturbation has been attenuated by a factor of 1/200.

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PubMed2004

Efficient method for the reduction of large piston errors in segmented-mirror telescopes.

Phase discontinuity sensing (PDS) is one of two successful approaches to segment phasing that are currently in use at the Keck telescopes, but it has only a limited capture range. We describe and present numerical simulations of a broadband version of the current (narrowband) PDS algorithm that can extend the capture range from 0.4 to 40 microns. Like the original algorithm, the new broadband PDS algorithm requires no special-purpose hardware but only a high-resolution area detector operating in the 2-3-microns range. The potential application of this algorithm to extremely large telescopes is also discussed.

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PubMed2004

Testing and applicability of the UPC-ZEBRA interferometer as a phasing system in segmented-mirror telescopes.

In segmented-mirror telescopes, wave-front discontinuities caused by segment misalignment are a major problem because they severely degrade optical performance. While angular misalignments are usually measured with deflectometric wave-front sensors (e.g., Shack-Hartmann sensors), a number of techniques have been proposed for the measurement of vertical discontinuities (pistons). In earlier papers we presented an instrument called UPC-ZEBRA that uses a novel interferometric technique to measure piston error during the daytime with an uncertainty of 5 nm within a 30-microm range. Here we present the most representative results obtained during the testing stage and a detailed analysis of error sources. The main modifications to be introduced for the instrument's use as a phasing calibration system are also outlined.

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PubMed2002

Design of an interferometric system for the measurement of phasing errors in segmented mirrors.

One of the new problems that has to be solved for segmented mirrors is related to periodic phasing, because for such mirrors to exhibit diffraction-limited performance the segments have to be positioned with an accuracy of a fraction of a wavelength. We describe the optical design of an instrument that measures the phasing errors (i.e., tip, tilt, and piston) between two segments under daylight conditions. Its design is based on a high-aperture white-light Michelson interferometer. It was developed at the Center for Sensors, Instruments and Systems Development (CD6) of the Technical University of Catalunya, Spain, and its final testing was carried out on the Gran Telescopio Canarias test workbench.

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