The overall goal of this effort is to design and model an adaptive optic system that satisfies all of the technical, size, and cost requirements for diffraction limited delivery of laser energy to the retina through an aberration-corrected system. The adaptive optics (AO) system will also be… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Imaging the retina using adaptive optics (AO) to correct aberrations in the lens and cornea increases lateral resolution by a factor of three. Depth resolution for confocal systems increases by a factor of ten when correcting aberrations with AO. The increased… More

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II research project aims to deliver a dramatic advance in microelectromechanical system (MEMS) deformable mirror performance. Deformable mirrors are the key active component in adaptive optics (AO) systems that provide vastly improved resolution… More

Iris AO proposes to manufacture and deliver an adaptive-optics (AO) retinal imager and light delivery system for evaluating laser safety and damage mechanisms. The system will achieve cellular-level 3-D high resolution imaging while delivering diffraction limited laser pulses to a living eye by… More

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II research project aims to deliver a dramatic advance in microelectromechanical system (MEMS) deformable mirror performance. Deformable mirrors are the key active component in adaptive optics (AO) systems that provide vastly improved resolution… More

Iris AO will develop electromechanical models and actuator calibration methods to enable open-loop control of MEMS deformable mirrors (DMs) with unprecedented precision. Error budget analysis will establish feasibility of open-loop operation with nanometer-scale positioning accuracy and… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Phase I SBIR will prove the feasibility of a design for a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (cSLO) that can take high-resolution in-vivo images of the human eye. This cSLO will use long wavelength sources to permit deeper imaging than conventional… More

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop control techniques for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based segmented deformable mirrors (DMs) used in adaptive optical (AO) systems. These AO systems correct for optical aberrations, which limit the performance… More

In Phase I research, Iris AO developed enhanced electromechanical models and calibration techniques for MEMS-based segmented deformable mirrors (DMs) applicable to a variety of high contrast astrophysical imagers. High-precision DMs with 1,000-1,000,000 actuators are critical for high-contrast… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Iris AO is developing exciting technologies that enable in vivo cellular-level retinal imaging. The cutting-edge adaptive-optics (AO) systems Iris AO develops increases the axial and transverse resolution of retinal ima ges 5 fold. AO is used to correct for the… More

High-speed laser communications in adverse maritime conditions are necessary to transfer large amounts of data needed for command-and-control, target selection, or other intelligence. Atmospheric turbulence causes scintillation, variation of signal strength, and an increase in the bit-error rate… More

The SBIR Phase II project aims to develop an integrated control system for adaptive optics (AO) systems based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) deformable mirrors (DM). Under ideal circumstances, the resolution of an optical system is limited by the diffraction of light waves. Due to… More

Iris AO will extend previous development research in the area of piezoelectrically actuated membrane deformable mirrors (DM). These extensions are to achieve extreme degrees of curvature required in an optical zoom system based on DMs. These MEMS devices are very small, low weight, and consume very… More

Iris AO will extend its proven segmented MEMS deformable mirror architecture to large array sizes required for high-contrast astrophysical imagers. Current implementations consist of arrays of 37 mirror segments (currently available commercially) and 163 segment arrays (first prototypes under… More

This small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the ability to coat a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) deformable mirror (DM) array with high-reflectance dielectric coatings. Micromachined DMs provide unprecedented control over an optical beam, however, they… More

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has the potential to create deformable mirrors (DM) with 10^4 actuators that have size, weight, and power specifications that are far lower than conventional piezoelectric and electrostrictive DMs. However, building a MEMS DM with a relatively large… More

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has the potential to create deformable mirrors (DM) with 10^4 actuators that have size, weight, and power specifications that are far lower than conventional piezoelectric and electrostrictive DMs. However, building a MEMS DM with a relatively large… More

What is the proposed innovation? This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance the state of the art in compact 360-degree camera systems, achieving sizes of about 1/8 of current systems, without compromising the quality or resolution of the optics. Convex mirror based… More