The plenoptic camera as wavefront sensor for the VTT solar telescope

Abstract

The plenoptic camera has the capability of generating images from as many different viewpoints as microlenses building its array, therefore it is possible to extract several images of the telescope aperture as viewed from those different viewpoints, and after processing them, estimate the incoming atmospheric wavefront. A customized plenoptic camera has been installed at the focus of the Vacuum Tower Telescope at the Teide Observatory in order to assess the feasibility of the plenoptic device as wavefront sensor for solar telescopes. While conventional sensors struggle when measuring phase in wide field-of-view and further from the optical axis, the plenoptic camera gets advantage of imaging extended objects as it could be the solar surface. Telescope results derived from sensing the atmospheric turbulence in a solar scenario by integrating the plenoptic camera in a real science environment are presented and the viability of this type of device as wavefront sensor for solar adaptive optics is hereby demonstrated. Show more